Rain may delay bus arrivals at terminals

Rain may delay bus arrivals at terminals

JAKARTA (JP): An official warned holiday travelers on Monday of possible congestion at intercity bus terminals during the peak days of the upcoming Christmas and Idul Fitri holidays.

Nurachman, chief of the East Jakarta Land Transportation Agency (DLLAJR), said congestion at the bus terminals would occur as many buses would arrive late at the terminals due to the rainy season.

"The drivers will not take any risks by driving more quickly due to the rainy season.

"Therefore, the buses will reach Jakarta very late. And it will cause congestion in the terminals as the buses will arrive at about the same time," Nurachman told reporters at his office.

He said the delay in the arrival of the buses would be caused by traffic jams along the northern coastal roads of Java.

"During our recent inspection, we found that some bridges were damaged along the main routes, especially the northern coast of Java, including the Tanjung bridge in West Java.

"The local public works offices are still repairing the bridges, and this is causing traffic jams along the northern coastal roads," he said.

East Jakarta's DLLAJR office supervises three intercity bus terminals -- namely Kampung Rambutan, Pulogadung and Rawamangun.

Nurachman said his department could not provide any solutions to deal with the problem, except to manage the flow of buses arriving at the terminals.

"For example, the Pulogadung terminal is too small to serve the buses, and it needs further development.

"However, the development project cannot be realized within a short period of time," he said.

As well as warning of possible congestion at major intercity bus terminals during the peak days of the Christmas and Idul Fitri festivities, Nurachman asked travelers to depart and return to Jakarta prior to and after the peak days.

He said travelers should leave and return to Jakarta seven days before and seven days after the Idul Fitri holiday.

"If necessary, they should not travel to their hometowns, but spend their holidays in the capital," he said.

"Moreover, going on a trip during the rainy season brings with it the risk of accident," he said.

During the festivities, which will fall at the end of this month, the city land transportation agency would set up coordination posts at the respective bus terminals, to assist and provide information for travelers.

"The posts will be set up on Dec. 17, while the police and youth volunteers will join the scheme to assist travelers," he said.

He added that his office would take stern measures against any bus crews illegally hiking the bus fares above those set by the government.

"My office will revoke the company's permit if they are proven guilty of illegally hiking fares," he said.

He explained that more than 50 percent of the city's holiday travelers would travel to their hometowns through the three East Jakarta intercity bus terminals.

The city's Land Transportation Agency has predicted that some 1.2 million holiday travelers would depart the capital in a total of 6,321 buses. (asa)