Transportation problems on increase prior to Idul Fitri
JAKARTA (JP): Idul Fitri holidays are still two weeks away, but major highways and ports in populous Java and Sumatra are becoming increasingly jammed by homeward bound revelers.
Hundreds of trucks carrying supplies for the holidays that peak on Feb. 9 and 10 were stalled due to traffic jams on Java's highways.
The authorities estimate about 25 million people will return to their home villages this season.
The last seven days have seen hundreds of trucks inching their way en route to Bakauheni port in Lampung, Sumatra waiting for ferries to take them across the Sunda Strait to Java.
Built in 1983, Bakauheni is the only route to Java for passengers using land and sea transportation. During peak seasons, it deploys its full armada of 15 ferries that can carry 29,000 people and 3,000 vehicles in 40 sorties per day.
Antara reported yesterday that a throng of trucks carrying perishable vegetables, food and goods had packed the port's parking lot over the last two days. They had to wait for up to 12 hours to get a ferry.
No queues, however, were seen at each of the port's ticket boxes.
A Bakauheni port employee said the number of passengers pouring into the port had exceeded the usual 15,000 per day.
"The increase is not significant so far, perhaps because all the ferries work well," he said.
Idul Fitri, Christmas and school holidays have always been marked by vehicles's queues kilometers long at Bakauheni harbor and its counterpart in Merak, the biggest port on the western tip of Java.
The latest jam blocked the ports during the Christmas holidays last December after eight ferries were docked for repairs and another two had expired licenses. Thousands of passengers waiting for ferry services had to walk 15 kilometers to the port.
The Ministry of Transportation sent ships and the Navy sent three warships to ease the massive congestion at Merak ferry port.
Passengers have another choice, speed boats four times faster than regular ferries. It takes speed boats 30 minutes to reach Merak, allowing passengers to save one and a half hours.
Officers
Meanwhile, the Central Java Police plan to deploy 14,000 officers throughout the province to maintain order during the holidays. They will start on Jan. 30 and end on Feb. 20.
Chief of the provincial police, Maj. Gen. Harimas A.S., said yesterday his personnel would also be posted to all spots prone to accidents, traffic jams, landslides and floods.
Harimas said the police would set up emergency posts along the northern route, ready to help anyone 24 hours a day. They will include medical employees, whose services will be free of charge.
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto has predicted that the northern route through Java, locally known as Pantura, would be the busiest with 150,000 vehicles passing a day during the holiday season.
In Bandung, West Java, the provincial police are organizing a four-day course for drivers to improve discipline on the streets and reduce accidents during the holiday season.
The police recorded 187 accidents claiming 114 lives and injuring 360 people during the holiday season stretching 10 days before and after Idul Fitri last year.
In Aceh, the holiday exodus is expected to involve 500,000 people.
Secretary of Aceh Police's traffic directorate, Lt. Col. Surya Dislan, said yesterday the exodus would peak either on Feb. 8 or Feb. 9.
Antara reported yesterday bus tickets for departures from Banda Aceh to Medan, North Sumatra before Feb. 7 had already sold out.
Aceh's transportation office said 364 buses owned by 16 companies would be eligible to serve passengers leaving for North Sumatra. The fleet will carry up to 11,000 people a day. (amd)