No jump yet in flow of people returning to Jakarta
No jump yet in flow of people returning to Jakarta
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
There was no significant increase in the number of people
returning to Jakarta through the city's three major bus terminals
-- Kampung Rambutan and Pulogadung in East Jakarta and Lebak
Bulus in South Jakarta -- on Sunday, seven days after the Idul
Fitri celebration.
The number of passengers disembarking at the three bus
terminals has not increased over the last few days after the Idul
Fitri holiday with the arriving buses being not too crowded.
The number of buses arriving at the Lebak Bulus terminal, for
example, reached only 77 with 1,508 passengers from early in the
morning until 7 p.m. on Sunday, as compared to 199 buses with
5,144 passengers in the corresponding period on Saturday.
"The number of passengers is about the same as on ordinary
days ... probably it will increase substantially on Monday
because Tuesday will be Christmas and there will be no more
holidays after that," Chaerudin, one of staff members at the
Lebak Bulus bus terminal, said.
J.A. Barata, spokesman of the directorate general for land
transportation of the Ministry of Transportation, however
predicted that the peak for incoming travelers will occur on
Wednesday or Thursday.
Barata's argument was based mainly on the fact that school
holidays will end late this month.
Chaerudin said that this year's exodus during Idul Fitri was
different from last year when both the outgoing and returning
passengers made the bus terminal officers busy because Idul Fitri
and Christmas were close together.
This year Idul Fitri, Christmas and the New Year take place at
an interval of about one week, thereby giving a longer time for
the holidayers to leave and return to the city, he said.
Meanwhile, the number of buses entering Kampung Rambutan bus
terminal from early in the morning until noon on Sunday reached
242 with 8,386 passengers, as compared to 715 buses with 23,050
passengers a day earlier, according to Antara.
At the Pulogadung bus terminal, the condition was about the
same with the number of buses reaching 204 with 6,453 passengers
on Sunday as compared to 117 buses with 5,850 passengers on
Saturday.
By comparison, 80 to 90 buses usually enter the Pulogadung bus
terminal transporting about 1,700 passengers on ordinary days.
In total at least 170,000 outsiders poured into Jakarta over
the last three days alone, disembarking from three bus terminals.