Jumat, 12 Desember 2014

FOURTEEN MILLION PEOPLE FORECAST TO MAKE YEAR-END TRIPS

By Andi Abdussalam
          Jakarta, 12 (Antara) - About 14 million people are expected to travel during this year's Christmas and New Year holidays similar to the trend observed in the previous years.
        An estimated 14 million travelers will use both public transportation and private vehicles.
         Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan reminded all public transportation operators and travelers to maintain safety while conducting year-end trips during the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.
         The minister also stressed on safety and quality service for passengers during a coordination meeting held on Wednesday to discuss transportation preparations in the face of the upcoming 2014 Christmas and 2015 New Year holidays.
         "Operators must offer good transportation facilities, vehicles, and crew members to ensure the safety aspect and quality of service in all areas beginning from ticket sales during the Christmas and New Year holidays," the minister remarked.

 
         He also called on all relevant parties to maintain safety and security at various transportation points such as railway stations, airports, seaports, and bus terminals.
         Earlier, Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Transportation Ministry had forecast that the number of travelers using public transportation during Christmas and the New Year holidays is estimated to reach 14 million.
        "The increase in the number of passengers can reach 14 million this year," Acting Director General of Land Transportation Sugihardjo remarked during a press conference on Friday, last week.
         Sugihardjo noted that in 2014, the number of passengers is forecast to increase by 4.88 percent to 14,047,045 from 13,392,788 recorded in 2013.
         Of the various modes of transportation, Sugihardjo claimed that trains will serve the largest number of passengers reaching 3.85 million followed by air transportation with 3.72 million passengers, land transportation 2.94 million, inter island waterway transportation service 2.60 million, and sea transportation 0.91 million passengers.
         Director General for Sea Transportation Affairs Bobby R. Mahamit remarked during a coffee discussion on Thursday that the number of passengers using sea transportation was forecast to increase 3 percent or by 26,475 to 908,974 passengers as compared to 882,499 recorded in 2013.
         "The increase in the number of passengers is always linear with the average increase in population, which rose by three percent per annum," stated Director General Bobby R. Mahamit.
         In anticipation of the increase in the number of passengers, Bobby emphasized that his office will ensure that its sea transportation fleet functions at its peak potential with the deployment of 24 ships owned by state-owned shipping company Pelni, 84 pioneer ships, 29 roll-on roll-off ferries owned by private companies, and 70 privately owned passenger ships.
        Acting Director General for Land Transportation Sugihardjo noted that the trend of Christmas and New Year holiday travelers was different from the exodus trend of the Muslim Idul Fitri holiday revelers. This time, travelers will be more evenly distributed across the country, not only in Java such as Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java but also in the eastern regions where they will use sea transportation services to ring in Christmas in their hometowns.
         In an effort to anticipate the increase in ship passengers, operators could re-route ships and increase the frequency of pioneer ship services during the peak period. The peak flow of travelers for the Christmas holidays is also not the same as that noticed during Idul Fitri. The peak flow of Christmas holiday passengers is not concentrated on a D-Day, alike that observed during the Idul Fitri holidays.
        "The maximum concentration of travelers is found in tourist sites, including in the northern and southern lanes of Java, such as in Anyer (Banten), Pasir Putih (Lampung), Jatim Park, and others," Sugihardjo remarked.
         According to Sugihardjo, among all areas in the country, the maximum rush of travelers will be noted in 49 terminals in 17 provinces, nine ferry points, 52 seaports, 32 airports, and 12 train stations. He urged operators to lay greater emphasis on increasing safety and service quality aspects.
         "These aspects must be maintained during ticket sales and during trips for the Christmas and New Year holidays," the director general stated.
         Sugihardjo revealed that the Ministry of Transportation is coordinating with the related ministries and institutions to handle matters relating to travelers during the Christmas and New Year holidays.
         The ministry is coordinating with the National Police and the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) to ensure security at transportation points and the flow of traffic as well as the security of transportation to the tourism centers, among others.
          The Ministry of Health will open community health care centers or 24-hour hospitals while the Ministry of Public Works and People's Housing will keep heavy equipment on standby in anticipation of landslides and bridge collapse.
         The director general stated that his side has urged the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources to provide adequate fuel oil stocks. Jasa Raharja will provide compensation to the victims of traffic accidents.
          Minister Ignasius Jonan said that his ministry will set up transportation monitoring posts for the upcoming Christmas and New Year holiday travelers.
         The monitoring posts will operate from December 19, 2014, to January 5, 2015, for land and train transportation modes; from December 18, 2014, to January 8, 2015, for sea transportation; and from December 22, 2014, to January 4, 2015, for air transportation.
         The minister reiterated that the concentration of travelers will be noted in 17 provinces and 49 terminals, nine crossing points for ferries, 52 seaports, 32 airports, and 12 train stations.
         Minister Jonan said that these matters need to be highlighted as the number of passengers using all modes of transportation in the 2014 Christmas and 2015 New Year holidays is forecast to increase by 4.88 percent in 2014.
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(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(H-YH)

(T.A014/A/BESSR/A/Yosep) 12-12-2014 18:05

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