Jakarta, July 21 (Antara) - State-owned Inland Waterway Transportation
Service PT ASDP in cooperation with state-owned shipping firm PT Pelni
is taking necessary steps to provide transportation for post-fasting
month Idul Fitri holidaymakers, or Lebaran travelers.
Beginning this week, about 24 million Lebaran travelers, locally known
as "pemudik," have started their exodus for family reunions in their
hometowns during the Idul Fitri holidays.
The homeward and
return flow of travelers will last from about 7 days before and 7 days
after the Idul Fitri D-Day, which falls on July 28-29, 2014.
Of the 24 million Lebaran revelers, about 5.11 million will travel by sea through ships or ferries.
Transportation Deputy Minister Bambang Susantono said early this month
that the government will deploy at least 1,200 ships to cater to
travelers who will arrive home by sea.
PT Pelni has expressed its readiness to serve homebound travelers or
"mudik" makers this year. PT Pelni will coordinate with various
concerned parties in providing the services.
"We
have been preparing 25 passenger ships, with a total seating capacity
of 45,077 passengers," said PT Pelni President Director Sulistyo Wimbo
Hardjito on Wednesday (July 2, 2014).
For the ferry services, Director General for Land Transportation Suroyo
Alimoeso, meanwhile, said that PT ASDP will serve at least eight major
routes, by 52 seaports or ferry ports.
Two busiest routes of the ferry ports during the Lebaran exodus are
Ketapang-Gilimanuk and Merak-Bakauheni. The Ketapang and Gilimanuk ports
connect Java and Bali, while the Merak and Bakauheni ports connect Java
and Sumatra.
Lebaran travelers from Kalimantan to Java or vice versa will use ships
provided by the government or Pelni, while travelers who will cross the
Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra or that between Java and Bali will
be served by ferries of the ASDP.
PT ASDP at Ketapang Port of Bangyuwangi, East Java, has been preparing
44 ferries to serve post-fasting Idul Fitri travelers.
PT ASDP Manager for Ketapang Port Saharudin Kotto said on Monday that
of the 44 ferries, 21 were passenger ships to be operated through Mobil
Bridge Pontoon Pier and 23 were cargo ships to be operated through the
Landing Craft Machine Pier.
"However, of the 44 ships, possibly only 36 will actively be operated
during the homeward flow and return flow of the Idul Fitri
holidaymakers, or Lebaran travelers," he said.
Saharudin pointed out that his office had also prepared other
infrastructures and facilities at Ketapang Port, namely ships and piers,
which will be operated during the Lebaran transportation season.
"All fleet members have been sent to the dockyard for repairs, so 36
ships are now ready to serve homeward and returning travelers," he
noted.
He said that most workers in Bali were residents of Java, so the
Ketapang-Gilimanuk crossing was expected to become one of the busiest
straits in the country during the Lebaran holidays.
At Bali port of Gilimanuk, Ketut Artika of the local ASDP said that his
side has prepared 41 passenger ships, including reserve ships, to
transport post-fasting Idul Fitri holiday makers.
"We
have mobilized 38 ships and three reserve ships to serve passengers at
Gilimanuk Port," Ketut, head of Bali's Transportation, Communication and
Information Agency, said on Monday.
He noted that the three reserve ships prepared by the Bali office of
the Inland Waterway company were to be used in case of an anticipated
increase in the number of Lebaran travelers.
The transportation service official also explained about pier
preparations at the port, where he said six piers were expected to serve
Lebaran travelers or "pemudik."
At the port, which links
Ketapang Port in East Java, at least five ticket windows were available
to the public--two for motorcycles and four-wheeler vehicles.
"We have also prepared one lane for trucks, so they can directly be embarked on the ships," he added.
In the meantime, the ASDP for Merak Port in Banten province has
deployed 28 roll-on roll-off (roro) ferries to serve the 2014 Lebaran
holiday travelers, the company's public relations officer Mario Utomo
said.
"We
have placed 28 ferries on standby to handle the inflow of Lebaran
holiday passengers, so that they will not have to stand in long queues
before being ferried to Bakauheni Port in Lampung, Sumatra island,"
Mario stated on Monday.
He noted that PT ASDP had stationed its ferries at Merak Port and is
ready to serve the travelers heading to Bakauheni Port and then on to
their respective native villages in Sumatra until they return to Merak
after the holidays.
Mario remarked that the number of homebound
travelers is likely to peak next Saturday because civil servants and
private employees will commence their holidays on Sunday.
"On
Monday, the transportation services from Merak to Bakauheni started to
witness an increase in passenger volume," he added.
The other waterways PT ASDP will serve during Lebaran included the Bastiong and Rum lanes in North Maluku.
The North Maluku branch of PT ASDP in Ternate has prepared eight ships
to carry post-fasting Idul Fitri holiday travelers.
"The eight ships will operate from June 21 to August 5, 2014," Ali Tamher, of the ASDP Ternate, said on Monday.
Of
the eight ferries, three will transport passengers on the routes
Bastiong Ternate-Rum, Tidore-Kepulaua ports, and Bastiong Ternate-Sofifi
of North Maluku capital city.
For the two routes, ASDP has provided more than one ship because they are heavily traveled sea routes in North Maluku.
The
number of passengers using the two routes has increased during the
period beginning three days before D-Day and three days after D-Day in
the post-fasting holiday season.***3***
(T.A014/INE/S012)
EDITED BY INE
(T.SYS/A/BESSR/Suharto) 21-07-2014 |
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