Jakarta, July 22 (Antara) - More than 50 percent of Eid or Lebaran travelers who celebrated the post-fasting family reunion in Sumatra have not yet returned to Java until Tuesday, or four days after (D+4) the festivities.
Data recorded by state-owned Inland Waterway Transportation Service (PT ASDP) for Bakauheni indicated that the number of returning Eid holidaymakers from Sumatra to Java through Bakauheni Ferry Port until Tuesday stood at 263,176, or about 41 percent.
The total number of Eid holidaymakers who traveled from Java to Sumatra through the port before Lebaran was recorded at 647,800.
Thus, until Tuesday, 384,624 travelers were still in Sumatra, even as offices will begin to open on Wednesday.
The government had imposed official joint Eid holidays, starting Thursday, July 16, until Tuesday, July 21, 2015. Lebaran or Eid fell on Friday, July 17, 2015.
This year, the government had forecast the number of Eid travelers who will return to their hometowns for family reunions during the Lebaran festivities across the country to increase by two percent to reach 20 million.
President Director of PT ASDP Danang S. Baskoro has forecast an influx of returning holidaymakers from Sumatra at Bakauheni Port to occur on Saturday, July 25, 2015.
Before Lebaran, the peak flow of homebound Eid travelers took place on Wednesday, July 15, or D-2, when 127,389 travelers were ferried from Merak Port to Bakauheni Port.
PT ASDP had earlier forecast that the peak flow of travelers returning after Eid would take place on Tuesday, or D+4.
"We predict that the peak flow of returning travelers will take place four days after (D+4) Eid, or Lebaran. These will mostly include the travelers heading to Java," Tomy L. Kaunang, the general manager of PT ASDP for Bakauheni, stated on Tuesday.
Hundreds of thousands of travelers headed home for Lebaran, he noted, adding that the number of returning travelers is expected to stay unchanged.
PT ASDP had prepared 50 ships and six piers in order to serve the passengers keen to reach Merak Port in Java.
According to data gathered by ASDP Bakauheni until 8 p.m. Western Indonesia Standard Time (WIB), on Tuesday, the number of returning pedestrian passengers and travelers on vehicles through Bakauheni Port had not yet reached half of those who had gone for holidays in Sumatra.
The number of Lebaran travelers on motorcycles who have returned to Java through Bakauheni Port has reached 28,005 units, or only 43 percent of the total 65,356 motorcycles that had been transported to Sumatra.
In the meantime, the percentage of returning four-wheel or private cars until Tuesday was smaller, at only 38 percent, or 28,513 units. A total of 45,683 four-wheel vehicles have not yet returned to Java and are still in Sumatra.
"Most travelers are still in their respective hometowns. They are still enjoying the school holidays. They have not yet returned to Jakarta today," Baskoro remarked on Tuesday.
ASDP Bakauheni Manager Heru Purwanto stated that his office had increased the number of ticket sale windows from eight to 12 in order to anticipate the influx of the reverse flow of Eid travelers, who are locally known as "pemudik."
"Just as we have provided additional ticket windows for pedestrian passengers, the number of ticket windows for pemudik using vehicles has also been increased by four. We hope that the increase in the number of ticket windows will reduce the lengthy queues of travelers, both pedestrians and passengers travelling on vehicles," Purwanto added.
In the meantime, the flow of Eid travelers on the Sumatran highway on Tuesday, or D+4, was still high. The flow of travelers was headed to Bakauheni Port in the eastern tip of Sumatra in Lampung Province from where they will cross the Sunda Strait through Bakauheni Port to Merak Port in the western tip of Java.
Therefore, until Wednesday morning, the pemudik continued to throng Bakauheni Port. The flow is expected to peak on Saturday, July 25, 2015, or D+7.
From Tuesday night until Wednesday morning, hundreds of vehicles continued to queue up at every pier of the port awaiting their turn to get onboard the roll-on-roll-off (Roro) ships.
Pedestrian passengers also continued to arrive at the port. Two-wheel motorists thronged the piers and awaited their turn to be ferried by Roro ships.
Mostly minibuses and sedan cars have also queued up, as they await their turn to get onboard the ships.
The transportation minister had earlier forecast that the flow of travelers returning after celebrating the Eid or Lebaran holidays in their hometowns will peak seven days after (D+7) the festival, or on Saturday, July 25, 2015.
"All travelers, in fact, have tickets for their return journey from their hometowns. The reverse flow of travelers who will use means of land transportation is predicted to occur on July 24 or 25," Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan stated last Friday.
He added that the flow of Eid travelers this year had been more systematic as compared to that noted in the previous years, including the flow of traffic at Merak Ferry Port and Gili Manuk Port in Bali. The waiting time was reduced to only 45 minutes.
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(A014/INE)
EDITED BY INE
(T.A014/A/BESSR/O. Tamindael) 22-07-2015 12:06:0 |
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