More residents expected to leave city for Idul Fitri

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The city administration is expecting an increase in the number of residents leaving the city this year to celebrate the postfasting Idul Fitri holiday in their hometowns.

Preparations have been made to accommodate the some 1.97 million people expected to leave the city, which has a population of more than eight million. Last year, some 1.82 million residents went home for the holiday.

Idul Fitri is expected to fall on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. The fasting month of Ramadhan began on Nov. 6.

"The holidaymakers usually leave town seven days before or after Idul Fitri," the secretary of the city's Idul Fitri transportation management team, Raya Siahaan, told The Jakarta Post on Friday. "We will provide more transportation to serve them."

Nationwide some 19.8 million people are expected to travel for the Idul Fitri holiday, a 9 percent increase from the 18.1 million people last year.

The Ministry of Transportation has established the week before and the week after Idul Fitri as the exodus and influx periods, during which all modes of transportation will be carefully monitored.

The City Transportation Agency expects the exodus to reach its peak eight to five days before Idul Fitri.

The agency is predicting that some 895,000 residents will get out of town by bus, with another 727,000 taking the train.

A smaller number of residents, about 248,000, are expected to travel by plane and another 100,000 by boat.

The agency has named Pulogadung and Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta, Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and Kalideres in West Jakarta as the main bus terminals during the Idul Fitri exodus and influx.

Several additional terminals also have been prepared for Idul Fitri travelers. They are the Rawamangun, Grogol, Pinang Ranti, Tanjung Priok, Muara Angke, Cengkareng, Kemayoran, Pasar Minggu, Kemang and Pulogebang bus terminals, and the Tanah Merdeka truck terminal.

"We are preparing additional buses to carry all the residents who want to celebrate Idul Fitri out of town.

"Additional buses are needed because usually there is a surge in demand for buses," the head of the Central Jakarta Transportation Office, Mohammad Sidik, told city-owned www.beritajakarta.com news portal.

The Gambir, Pasar Senen, Kota and Tanah Abang train stations will handle those residents who want to travel by train.

Sidik said 159 trains were ready to transport outbound passengers from the capital.

However, a spokesman for state-owned PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) said they were still not certain how many trains would be allocated to serve passengers from Jakarta.

"I haven't got the detailed number yet. Everything is still being worked out by the company's headquarters," the spokesman for PT KAI in Greater Jakarta, Zainal Abidin, told the Post.

Nationwide the company is ready to provide 207 regular trains and 29 additional trains with a total of more than 1,000 cars to carry some 3.2 million passengers.

Separately, PT KAI spokesman Patria Supriyoso told the Post the company had yet to decide on the number of trains to be allocated for its nine divisions in Java and one division in South Sumatra.

"PT KAI has asked all its divisions to work out how many trains will need for the Idul Fitri exodus and influx.

"I hope there will be a breakdown next Wednesday," he said.