Thousands of Idul Fitri revellers stranded

Thousands of Idul Fitri revellers stranded

JAKARTA (JP): Eleven people have been killed in series of
traffic accidents on Java's northern coast (Pantura) routes as
motorists struggled to reach their hometowns to celebrate Idul
Fitri.

The first accident took place in Batang, Central Java, on
Friday morning when an Adi Mulya bus hit a truck, leaving nine
people killed.

Two other people were killed in other accidents yesterday.
Details of the incidents have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people were stranded at city
bus terminals as the buses scheduled to take them to their
hometowns in West, Central and East Java failed to return to the
capital on time.

The sea of frustrated families, including babies and elderly
people, occurred at the bus terminals in Pulogadung, Rawamangun,
and Kampung Rambutan in East Jakarta, the Lebak Bulus bus
terminal in South Jakarta, and the Senen railway station in
Central Jakarta and Kota station in West Jakarta.

Traffic congestion, especially along the Pantura roads, was
blamed for the delays. It had been reported earlier that sporadic
repairs along the roads would affect the traffic flows.

Floods in the district of Wangon, Central Java, and an
accident in Indramayu contributed to the traffic chaos. The road
from Pangandaran to Sidareja was also disrupted by floods.

Reports said that the Cilegon-Merak traffic was totally
paralyzed as a two kilometer line of vehicles wanting to enter
the Merak seaport worsened the congestion.

A large number of people fainted after walking for more than
13 kilometers to beat the traffic and reach the port in an effort
to take the ship to Sumatra.

At Pulogadung bus terminal people had to wait for hours as
there were no buses to take them home. Many of them had to spend
the whole day at the bus terminal for nothing.

As an empty bus entered the compound people "fought" to get
on. The strongest while the old and weak just sat helplessly,
forced to wait for another bus.

"No way. I must go home to Tegal today," Pariyem replied to
The Jakarta Post's question if she could postpone her trip.

She was among those who had spent the whole day at the
terminal.

Chaos among travelers was used by pickpockets operating in the
bus terminal. Halima, who runs a rice stall in Ragunan, South
Jakarta, cried aloud at the terminal after she lost the Rp
450,000 she put in her purse, Antara reported.

Only 79 buses and 5,632 passengers departed from Pulogadung
from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The number of buses provided was
dramatically lower than the previous day's figure of around 200
buses in the same time.

A total of 45,344 bus passengers left the terminal on
Wednesday, 49,855 on Thursday and 60,000 on Friday.

More than 150 buses belonging to the state-owned bus company
PPD had not returned to Jakarta terminals as scheduled yesterday
afternoon.

About 60 buses have been repaired in Madura, East Java. Dozens
of others were reportedly caught in traffic jams.

The South Jakarta's Lebak Bulus bus terminal was just as busy
with thousands of desperate people waiting for buses bound for
Central and East Java.

"I have to cancel my trip. I've been here since 9:00 a.m to
get tickets for my wife and I, but failed. Those with tickets in
hands are also frustrated as the buses have not arrived yet,"
Toto, who wanted to go home to Mojokerto, East Java, with his
wife, said. He decided to go to Gambir railway station to get the
11 o'clock train to Yogyakarta.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said when
visiting the Lebak Bulus bus terminal on Saturday that the number
of travelers in the terminal was 40% more than last year.

Similar scenes were also witnessed at the Rawamangun and
Kampung Rambutan bus terminals.

Head of the Rawamangun bus terminal, B.A Simatupang, told The
Jakarta Post yesterday that the number of buses scheduled to
serve passengers at the station had been doubled for this year's
Idul Fitri exodus.

Due to the lack of buses however, the terminal yesterday only
dispatched around 1,500 passengers in the 50 available buses,
compared to the previous day's total of 3,176 passengers in 109
buses, Simatupang said.

The shortage of buses prompted many travelers to flock to the
railway stations.

A total of 170,000 people were at the city's railway stations
yesterday afternoon. (team)