Millions begin joining annual exodus

Millions begin joining annual exodus

JAKARTA (JP): The ritual exodus of people heading to their
hometowns for next week's Idul Fitri holiday kicked off on
Monday.

A number of roads connecting Jakarta to destinations in Java
were flooded with private vehicles and public buses, while major
intercity bus terminals and railway stations began to wilt under
the heat of crowds of travelers loaded down with bags of all
sizes and descriptions.

Similar scenes played out at strategic points in cities across
the country, such the ferry terminal in Batam and bus terminals
in the West Java capital of Bandung.

Late in the evening on Monday, bus passengers traveling from
Jakarta to cities in Java had been stuck in heavy traffic since
leaving the capital.

A passenger on a Giri Indah bus plying the Jakarta-Surakarta
route told The Jakarta Post from Cikampek, some 70 kilometers
southeast of Jakarta, the bus only arrived in the area at 8 p.m.
after departing from Bintaro, South Jakarta, at midday. He said
the toll roads and streets were choked with vehicles.

At 5:30 p.m., a Cirebon Express train collided with a Metro
Minibus at the Pondok Kopi crossing in East Jakarta, killing two
people and injuring six others.

A spokesman for state-owned PT KAI railway company, Zainal
Abidin, said the accident caused delays in numerous trains
serving passengers during the peak hours, because the single
track where the accident occurred is used by most trains serving
Jakarta routes.

"The flow of trains returned to normal at around 7:35 p.m.,"
he said.

There were no other serious traffic accidents reported on the
first day of the annual exodus, which according to most officials
will reach its peak this weekend.

At Gambir railway station in Central Jakarta and several bus
terminals in the capital, thousands of people lined up to try and
secure seats for later in the week.

At the Kalideres bus terminal in West Jakarta, City Land
Transportation Agency official Darmo Anggriawan reported that the
number of passengers heading to destinations in Java and Sumatra
was already 20 percent higher than on ordinary days.

According to Darmo, the number of people leaving the station
as of 2 p.m. on Monday was 1,599, traveling aboard 209 buses.

In Gambir, dozens of people camped out overnight so they could
purchase tickets when the windows opened in the morning.

Many of them complained that tickets for departure dates
before Dec. 24 to a number of destinations were already sold out.

"I can only buy a ticket for Dec. 25," said Fajar Utama, who
hopes to travel to Semarang, Central Jakarta.

An official at the train station said the number of people
departing from the train station was predicted to reach its peak
on Saturday and Sunday, with some 24,000 passengers leaving on
these days.

At Tanjung Priok Port, there has been an increase in the
number of passengers traveling to their hometowns, mostly in
Sumatra and Sulawesi, since last week.

Travel by ship during the annual exodus has always been a
difficult proposition because scalpers buy up most of the
tickets, leaving would-be passengers no choice but purchase
tickets from them at exorbitant prices.

In a bid to help more people get to their hometowns by boat
this holiday season, state-owned shipping company PT Pelni has
reached an agreement with the Indonesian Navy to use 27 warships
to transport travelers.

However, most tickets for the warships were snapped up the day
after they went on sale, leaving many disappointed people at the
Pelni head office in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.

Most of those turned away empty-handed were angry because they
had lined up since early in the morning to purchase tickets.

"I went to Tanjung Priok to see the warships yesterday and I
saw a lot of them, but I cannot find a single ticket for them
here. They said the tickets had been sold out for until Dec. 31,"
Ahmad, who is hoping to travel to Medan, said on Monday.

In Bogor, the authorities have deployed some 4,000 personnel
from the police, military and related institutions, including
several sharpshooters, to provide security during the holiday
travel.

Separately, Minister of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure
Erna Witoelar said most of the planned road repairs had already
been completed, particularly those in northern and southern Java.

"We hope the rain will not be as intense as predicted ... but
all the same travelers have to be alert for possible floods or
landslides. We are crossing our fingers and hoping to God that
everything is OK," she said.

In Batam, the number of people departing for Jakarta aboard
ships provided by PT Pelni showed an increase on Monday, as
thousands of people raced to board the ships and claim
comfortable seats. (jaw/bsr/dja/edt/21)