Jakarta, May 27 (Antara) -- The annual exodus of Idul Fitri (Eid)
travelers, which takes place about a week before and after the Muslim
fasting month, has always created traffic congestions in several parts
of the country.
This year, the number of Idul Fitri travelers heading to their
hometowns using land, sea and air transportation systems to celebrate
the post-fasting festivities of Lebaran is predicted to increase by 2
percent to 20 million people.
Land transportation is the busiest means as travelers often find
themselves trapped in gridlocks. Therefore, the government has started
preparing measures to address the problem before the peak days.
The peak traveling days are usually one week before and after the Idul
Fitri holidays or Lebaran. The fasting month of Ramadhan this year is
from June 18 to July 16.
The government, through relevant
ministries, is preparing measures to tackle traffic jam issues during
the homebound and return flows of travelers, who are expected to use
both private and public modes of transport.
The number of travelers using private vehicles is predicted to increase
5.8 percent, while those using public transportation are estimated to
drop by 5.8 percent this year.
Transportation
Minister Ignasius Jonan said in Jakarta on Wednesday that one of the
scenarios that will be applied to overcome traffic congestion in Java
will be to optimize the capacity of roads, such as the
Losari-Pejagan-Brebes-Tegal lanes, by hardening the road shoulders.
Therefore,
the road shoulders can be used to ease the traffic during a gridlock.
The funds for the hardening of the road shoulders will be taken from the
2015 state budget.
Moreover, government will also manage the flow of traffic on a main toll road in West Java that leads to Central Java.
Traffic
that gets congested at the Pejagan toll exit will be split and directed
to four lanes. The traffic flow of the first lane will be directed from
the Pejagan toll exit to the Simmpang-Brebes section. "In this
alignment, the flow of traffic will slow down at a double-track railway
crossing at Simpang Pejangan," the minister said.
The second flow will be directed to the Pejagan-Pemalang toll lane. The
third flow, after the Pejagan toll exit, will pass the
Pegangan-Ketanggungan-Jatibarang-Slawi road sections. The fourth flow
will exit from the Pejagan toll and be directed to the
Pejagan-Ketanggungan-Prupuk-Slawi-Tegal sections.
"To
split the flow of traffic from the Pejagan toll exit to the four lanes,
a good management is needed. We will cooperate with the Central Java
Traffic Police and Transportation Service," Jonan stated.
For
land transportation, the Ministry of Transportation will coordinate
with the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing, the Ministry of
Health and the National Police to ensure the readiness of roads, public
transportation and traffic management. The coordination will also
include efforts to control traffic accidents and conducting check on
vehicles and drivers.
In
addition, the ministry is coordinating with local governments to manage
casual markets, which often cause traffic jams in certain points of
roads. Heavy equipment has also been prepared in anticipation of
landslides.
Furthermore, policies will be adopted to restrict the operation of
cargo trucks in the four days before Lebaran and a day after. Health
posts will also be set up at railway stations, bus terminals, seaports
and airports.
Inspections of public transportation during the travelers' exodus will
be carried out during people's homebound journeys from July 11 to 15 and
during their return on July 25 and 26.
The operation time at ferry ports will be arranged to increase the frequencies of their arrival and departure.
Also, campaigns on safety aspects for motorists will be started on June
1. Free 'mudik' (traveling) offered by the government and
non-governmental agencies will also be arranged.
Basically, the highway along the northern coast of Java Island
(Pantura) is in good condition and is ready for motor vehicles during
this year's Lebaran holiday mass exodus, according to Suroto, a truck
driver.
"The
Pantura route is in good condition and is in a much better state than
in previous years as intensive repairs were carried out the last few
months," Suroto stated on Wednesday.
However, Sumatra has no toll roads yet. Travelers will use the existing Trans-Sumatra highway.
This
year, the government has begun to build several sections of toll roads
that are expected to link Lampung province in the eastern tip of Sumatra
to South Sumatra.
State-owned
Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno held a meeting on Wednesday with the
regional government of Lampung to discuss the Sumatran toll roads.
"President
Joko Widodo has instructed that the provinces of Lampung and South
Sumatra must be linked by a toll road by June 2018," Soemarno
emphasized, adding that with the presidential instruction, the
construction team needs to work hard to ensure that the project is
realized on time.
Furthermore, state-owned airline Garuda Indonesia has prepared 1.61
million seats for the post-fasting holiday of Lebaran in anticipation of
increasing demand for air transportation.
"For 2015, we prepared 1.61 million seats for holidaymakers leaving for
and returning after Lebaran, from July 9 to July 27 (D-8 to D-10) to be
exact," Vice President, Corporate Communications, of Garuda Indonesia
Pujobroto said on Wednesday.
He added that this figure is 8 percent higher than that in the same
period last year, when it was recorded at 1.49 million.
For several domestic and international routes that have recorded a
significant increase in air passenger traffic, Garuda will add to the
capacity by 16,044 seats for the Jakarta to Denpasar, Padang, Surabaya,
Yogyakarta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Perth routes.
The capacity will be increased through the operation of larger aircraft
for the routes, or by introducing extra flights.
"Of the total additional seats, 10,620 will come from the operation of
bigger aircraft, while 5,424 others will be from extra flights,"
Pujobroto pointed out.
***4***
(T.A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/B/BESSR/A. Abdussalam) 27-05-2015 22:13:0 |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar