Rush back to cities eases over weekend

Rush back to cities eases over weekend

JAKARTA (JP): The massive influx of people returning from
their Idul Fitri holidays continued until yesterday but is
already less than that of the previous several days.

Both private and public vehicles, as well as trains, were
still packed with travelers heading into the city.

Many returning travelers could be seen getting off at the
city's main railway stations, including Senen and Central
Jakarta, and bus terminals such as Pulogadung and Kampung
Rambutan in East Jakarta.

Some of the train and bus passengers were disembarking at
smaller railway stations and bus shelters before the trains and
buses entered the major stations and terminals.

The number of travelers at the city's main stations and
terminals is expected to return to normal by the beginning of
this week.

Head of the Senen railway station, Bey Arief, said on Saturday
that the number of passengers getting off at Senen had almost
returned to the normal daily rate of between 6,000 and 7,000
people.

"The number of returning travelers started to fall slightly
during the past two days and is estimated to reach the normal
rate within the next two to three days," Arief said.

During the past 20 days, the Senen railway station, one of the
busiest stations in the city, transported 306,000 passengers,
mainly Idul Fitri travelers, and earned Rp 2.76 billion (US$1.25
million) from ticket sales, he said.

About 30 percent of the city's population of over 10 million
was estimated to have left the city to celebrate the annual Idul
Fitri holiday in their hometowns in Java and Sumatra.

Generally, business activities in the city return to normal
two or three days after the Idul Fitri holidays.

But this year many offices and stores in and around the city
were still closed several days after the holidays because their
workers took longer leaves.

Many Jakartans took longer vacations because the Idul Fitri
holidays, on March 3 and 4, coincided with the school holidays of
most state schools.

"Many city families are still enjoying the holidays in their
villages with their children, until school begins again later
this week," said Chief Sergeant Mamar of the West Jakarta police,
who was assigned to monitor the influx of Idul Fitri traffic at
the Kebon Jeruk tollgate.

Therefore, he said, "we only saw a small wave of vehicles
heading into the city during the past few days, far below our
projected amount."

Other officers observed that many travelers returned to the
city in stages and used a number of road alternatives, thereby
preventing traffic jams.

"In previous years travelers departed and arrived at the same
time," Gani said, a bus driver at the Pulogadung terminal.

"Most of the travelers have, apparently, found that the best
way to travel is not to pack into crowded buses or trains," he
said. (bsr)