LEBARAN TRAVELERS EXPECTED TO PEAK ON SATURDAY

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, July 26 (Antara) - Post-fasting Idul Fitri, or Lebaran holiday travelers have begun their home-bound journeys since early this week, but numbers are expected to peak on Saturday as employees and civil servants began their leave on Friday.          The peak in the Idul Fitri exodus is expected on Saturday, two days before the D-Day of Lebaran holidays which fall next Monday and Tuesday.          The government has imposed joint leave from Wednesday until Friday next week, giving a chance to employees, particularly civil servants, to enjoy a full week off next week.          There have been several estimates on the number of Lebaran travelers this year, but the ministry of transportation predicted 24 million revelers.            The busiest land transportation lane for travelers is the 'Pantura' namely the Java highways in the northern coastal areas that stretch from the east to the west.          In the meantime, apart from the Ketapang ferry port which connects Java with Bali,  the Merak in Banten, is the busiest Ferry Port which links Java to Sumatra.          On certain days during the holiday season, trucks and cars often snake down from the piers in queues waiting for their turn to embark on the ship.          On Saturday, July 26, 2014, which is believed to be the peak day for Lebaran travelers this year, Merak was packed with cars of travelers intending to cross the Sunda Strait to Sumatra, two days before the Idul Fitri  festivities next Monday and Tuesday.          Thousands of Lebaran holiday travelers in private cars from various regions in Java have gathered at the piers and parking areas waiting for their turn to be ferried to Bakauheni ferry port at the eastern tip of Sumatra, according to an Antara correspondent monitoring this year's Lebaran exodus.          Since the early hours of Thursday, private cars have flocked to the ferry port and been in queues there.          "We have been waiting for our turn to get on the ferry since 5.30 am. We are trapped in the traffic jam," Syamsuddin, a car owner, heading to Palembang in South Sumatra said.          Travelers in private cars arrived simultaneously and could not be accommodated as they exceeded the capacity of the piers and parking areas, he said.          The Inland Waterway Transportation Service PT ASDP should increase the capacity of the Merak Port's parking lots and increase the number of piers, he added.          "We hope the ASDP will increase the number of piers and capacity of the parking areas for Lebaran travelers," Syamsuddin added.          Travelers who embarked at Merak port for Sumatra destinations disembarked at Bakauheni port Lampung province.          Therefore, Bakauheni ferry port of Lampung saw heavy traffic of disembarking passengers.  At Bakauheni port, holiday-makers were traveling from various provinces in Java heading to various regions in Sumatra, an Antara correspondent observed.          The passengers from the ferries comprised those using two-wheelers or four-wheelers and pedestrians. The flow of arriving pedestrian passengers was high on Friday (July 25) until the early hours of Saturday. Thousands of four-wheelers arrived through six piers, namely the Plengsengan, Dermaga I, II, III, IV, and V.          The number of passengers passing through the port from Sumatra to Java was recorded at 20.579 thousand.          In East Nusa Tenggara Province, the number of passengers traveling by sea also increased. Holiday makers going home through Kupang's Lontar Bolok Ferry Port on Saturday increased by about 30 percent, an Island Waterway Transportation Service's (ASDP's) manager said.          "The increase in the number of Idul Fitri travelers is because employees, particularly civil servants, have begun their holidays on Saturday," manager of ASDP for Kupang Ferry Port, Arnol Janssen, said here on Saturday.          On regular days the number of passengers ranged at between 300 and 400 persons, but on certain holidays the number of passengers rose to between 500 and 800 persons per day, he said.          In an effort to overcome the increase in traffic, the port had increased the frequency of departures and operated larger ships, Arnol explained.          Besides, the transportation of vehicles came second as priority was given to passengers, he said.          The passengers traveling on ships through Lontar Bolok port were going to different islands in the East Nusa Tenggara province such as the ports of  Rote Ndao district, Lembata, East Floresand Central Flores apart from Sumba, Alor and sabu Raijua.          The peak in numbers of travelling holiday makers was also expected to take place on Saturday in Central Java.      "The flow of Lebaran holiday makers from the western direction is expected to peak on Saturday," Head of the Transportation, Communications and Informatics Service of Central Java, Urip Sihabuddin, said in Semarang, Central Java on Saturday.          About six million travelers in Central Java were expected to come from the western direction and of this number only about 45 percent had arrived, he said.  Some of the Lebaran holiday makers would start their trips only on Saturday, Urip Sihabuddin noted.          "It is predicted that they will arrive in Java midnight tonight," he added.          In Southeast Sulawesi,  an unending flow of passengers packed ticket windows, and jostled each other for ferry tickets at Torobulo ferry port in Konawe Selatan District to cross to Tampo Muna District of Southeast Sulawesi.          Till Saturday, the flow of passengers was still high and the holidaymakers still packed the ticket windows at the port to cross the Torobulu-Tampo strait. The port's parking lots were filled with four-wheelers and two-wheelers.          The port had taken precautionary steps by expanding the areas used to sell tickets and employing port security officials, Torobulu port administrator Rusli Nyalla said.          "We have ordered our officials to supervise and regulate the ticket purchase system, and to keep travelers in orderly queues," he said.          Anticipating the increasing number of holiday travelers, the Inland Waterway Transportation Service (ASDP) had raised the frequency of ferries departing from the ports, Nyalla said.      The same thing occurred in West Kalimantan Province. Over 12 thousand Idul Fitri travelers using ships, have been moving to and fro between West Kalimantan and Java since last week (July 17, 2014), police said.          "A total of 7.1 thousand travelers from Pontianak (West Kalimantan) to Java and 5 thousand others from Java to Pontianak have flowed through the port since last July 17," Adjunct Commissioner Ahmad Firdaus, chief of Pontianak's Seaport Police Unit, said here on Saturday.          The number of passengers disembarking from the ship at the port on Saturday was recorded at 305 while the number of those embarking on the motor vessel on the same day stood at 308 travelers, he said.          "The travelers who are going home to celebrate the Idul Fitri holidays are being served by six ships, namely  KM Mabuhay, Bukit Raya, Leuser, Dharma III, and KM Sabuk, Lawit," he pointed out.          On the occasion, the port had set up a command post, consisting of representatives from the police, seaport, health services and other related agencies to anticipate jumps in the flow of Lebaran holiday-makers, Pontinak Port's Chief Administrator said.          "The command post was set up to provide services so that travelers would feel secure and comfortable during their voyage by sea," he added.***3*** (T.A014/INE/B003) EDITED BY INE (T.A014/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 26-07-2014 17:37: