Transport prepared for Idul Fitri exodus

JAKARTA (JP): The continuing crisis may be no obstacle to the traditional end-of-the-fasting month family gathering of Idul Fitri, and the government is gearing up to prepare for this year's expected exodus of 16.92 million people from various cities next month.

Last year's exodus involved 18.49 million people, Communications Minister Giri Suseno Hadihardjono said on Monday.

As in previous years, the ministry would coordinate the transportation system during the most celebrated Muslim holiday by deploying a colossal armada of buses, trains, ships and airplanes, Giri said.

It would deploy 408 passenger and cargo ships, 93 aircraft, 93 ferries, 238 trains, and 21,300 intercity buses and 12 terminals for the January season, he said.

It would also coordinate traffic in areas prone to high traffic density, beginning at least a week before the Idul Fitri holiday which will likely fall on Jan. 19 and 20, he said.

Giri said next year's Idul Fitri would be marked by a slowdown in the transportation sector, which had suffered from an increase in component prices and operational costs while revenues remained low.

"The supply of transportation has drastically shrunk; airline fleets declined to a total of about 90 aircraft in October; only 60 percent of inter-city buses are operating, while the number of city buses has dropped by an average of 50 percent," he said.

"In Jakarta only 30 percent of the buses are operating," he added.

Giri said the economic crisis had also given way to an increase in crimes committed against motorists and public transportation passengers such as scams, theft, and vandalism.

Many road signs and much equipment including traffic lights, signal cables, and telecommunication cables have been stolen or vandalized, jeopardizing the safety of motorists.

Giri said the government also anticipated the anomalous weather pattern known as La Nina would cause many natural disasters this season.

Over 16 months of economic crisis has led to an 8 percent drop in the number of passengers to 16.22 million in the Idul Fitri holiday next January from 18.49 million earlier this year.

Airline passenger numbers would drop the most with a 35 percent fall, followed by a 15 percent reduction in sea passengers and one of 8 percent in ground transportation passengers.

Giri cited several points, roads and routes vulnerable to high traffic density during the Idul Fitri holiday.

They include the Cikopo and Cileungsi toll exits, the Bogor- Ciawi-Sukabumi junction, the Puncak area, the Sukabumi road, and the Padalarang junction, all located in West Java.

The most heavily subscribed marine routes would include Jakarta-Medan (North Sumatra), Jakarta-Pontianak (West Kalimantan), Surabaya (East Java)- Banjarmasin (South Kalimantan), and Surabaya-Ujungpandang (South Sulawesi), he said.

The busiest airline routes will be Jakarta-Medan, Jakarta- Pontianak, Jakarta-Pangkal Pinang (Riau) and Jakarta-Denpasar. (das)