Jakarta's hustle and bustle reigns again

Jakarta's hustle and bustle reigns again

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's streets, which were quiet and almost
deserted during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
meeting on Tuesday, returned to normal yesterday.

Main streets in the city were again filled with both cars and
public transit vehicles taking people to work and school.

Scores of buses, trains and private cars filled with Jakartans
returning from their long weekend interlude have entered the city
since Tuesday afternoon.

The government declared Monday and Tuesday holidays in Jakarta
in a bid to ease the traffic flow during the APEC meeting. The
meeting was attended by a number of heads of states and other
high-ranking officials and was covered by about 4,000
journalists.

The long weekend prompted many Jakartans to venture to tourist
destinations outside the city or to visit relatives in ancestral
hometowns.

Head of the traffic control department of the City Land
Transportation Control Agency (DLLAJ) Herman Tonglo Langi said
yesterday that the traffic flow at the Pulogadung bus terminal in
East Jakarta and others throughout the city started increasing on
Nov. 11.

"Even though the number of buses transporting travelers
substantially increased, the situation was under control," he
said, claiming that the situation is gradually returning to
normal.

He said that the state-owned bus company, PPD, fully deployed
its fleet yesterday. The company also provided 12 additional city
buses to transport passengers from bus terminals to their homes.

Many people thronged bus terminals around the city last week,
with the number of travelers departing just from Pulogadung
terminal reaching a total of 168,384 people in the period between
Nov. 12 and 15, Herman said.

Perumka

He said normally the number of inter-city buses operating in
the terminal is 700 per day which transports only 20,000 people.

"The number of Jakartans returning through the terminal from
Nov. 13 to Nov. 15 reached 141,182," he said.

Suparman, the traffic manager of Kampung Rambutan bus terminal
in East Jakarta, said that from Nov. 13 until yesterday afternoon
a total of 91,534 people have arrived in the terminal.

"Most came from several cities in West Java, such as Bandung
and Tasikmalaya," Suparman told the Post, yesterday, adding that
101,411 people left Jakarta through the terminal from Nov. 12
until 15.

The head of Gambir railway station in Central Jakarta, Hadi
Suseno, said that the state-owned train company Perumka has
provided additional trains for the Yogyakarta, Semarang (in
Central Java) and Bandung (in West Java) routes.

"There are two additional trains from Yogyakarta and Semarang,
while the Parahyangan train connecting Bandung with Jakarta
departs stations at both ends every hour," Hadi said.

Traffic

According to Head of the City Police Traffic Investigation
Unit Lt. Col. Herman S. Sumawiredja, many holiday makers,
especially those driving their own cars, arrived back in Jakarta
on Tuesday evening when the traffic flow was comparatively light.

Herman told the Post yesterday there had been no significant
traffic jams reported as of yesterday afternoon. Many had
predicted the streets would be congested with the arrival of
thousands of Jakartans returning from out of town for the long
weekend.

Herman, who monitored the city traffic every minute over the
weekend, said his office deployed no additional personnel in
anticipation of the influx of holiday makers arriving at bus
terminals or train stations.

"Because we expected most of the holiday makers would have to
arrive on Tuesday evening to be able to work the next day," he
said.

"Everything has now returned to normal," he said.
(bsr/mas/yns)