A group of homecoming travelers are forced to stop and replace their car tire which blew out when passing on an emergency road in Taman district, Pemalang regency, Central Java, Thursday (29/6). It is predicted that the return flow will become increasingly crowded in the next three days until Sunday.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The Transportation Ministry has urged businesses using freight trucks to postpone the operation of their fleets until midnight Sunday (2/7), in order to prevent severe congestion at the peak of the holiday return traffic. The Indonesian Logistics Association (ALI) has responded positively to the ministry’s call.
“We have sent a letter to the Indonesian Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) to anticipate congestion at the peak of the return flow caused by renewing the operation of freight trucks with three axles or more. In the letter, we have asked Korlantas to urge freight trucks with three or more axles to postpone the operation of their fleets until Sunday (2/6) at 12:00 a.m.,” said land transportation director general Pudji Hartanto in Jakarta, Thursday (29/6).
The call was made as, according to a land transportation regulation, the operational restriction for freight trucks with three axles or more will end at midnight Thursday (29/6). It is feared that the presence of trucks on toll and arterial roads will worsen the congestion at the peak of the holiday return traffic on Friday (30/6) and Saturday (1/7).
If trucks were operating at the peak of return traffic, Pudji said, it was hoped that the police would carry out a traffic engineering strategy by directing them to exit the toll road and park in the large parking area of a restaurant along the West Java northern coastal road. If the traffic returned to normal, the trucks would be allowed to continue on their journeys.
“If the traffic is smooth, trucks can still go on. However, if the traffic is stuck, we ask for their tolerance to be temporarily stopped. Therefore if the operation can be postponed, we suggest that it be delayed for the moment,” said Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi.
The Transportation Ministry’s call for freight trucks to postpone resuming operations to 12:01 a.m. on Monday (3/7) will not disturb businesses, because most truck drivers and factories were still on holiday and were expected to resume operations on Monday (3/7).
“The change in the trucks’ operational restriction to seven days after Lebaran is good, because truck drivers have not yet returned to work and there are many factories that have not yet started operations,” said ALI chairman Zaldy Masita, Thursday (29/6).
However, Zaldy asked that the government not make such sudden changes to the operational restriction in the future, as sudden changes made it difficult for businesses to take anticipatory measures in time.
“Restricting operations for seven days after Lebaran should just be set from the start. Businesses work based on calculations adjusted to the government’s regulation,” he said.
Zaldy asked the government to offer dispensation for trucks transporting groceries and mineral water to continue to operate. These two goods were vital and so their supply must be maintained.
He said that every day, around 30,000 freight trucks were on the road on Java transporting goods.
Free transportation
To reduce congestion and the number of accidents, Budi has asked people to take advantage of the free return transportation provided by the government. Based on the Transportation Ministry’s Integrated Post data, returning travelers are being offered free sea transportation from Semarang to Jakarta on the KM Mutiara Sentosa III and the KM Dobon Solo.
The Mutiara Sentosa III started transporting returning travelers at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday (29/6), while the Dobon Solo is scheduled to depart at 4:00 p.m. on Friday (30/6), Sunday (2/7), Tuesday (4/7) and Thursday (6/7). The quota for free return travel by ship is 11,000 passengers.
Despite this quota, only 1,314 people have signed up with a total of 633 motorcycles on board. Separately, the quota for free motorbike delivery by train is 9,744 motorbikes.
“The free transportation capacity is not yet significant compared to the number of homebound travelers, which reached around five to 10 million people this year. However, it will be better when the quota covers 100,000 travelers. We will continue to broaden the ship (service) from Jakarta to Central Java and East Java,” Budi Karya said.
Emergency roads open
On Thursday morning, the Gringsing-Brebes emergency road was opened to serve one-way travel to the west. The road was opened to ease congestion on Central Java’s northern coastal road.
PT Jasamarga Semarang-Batang spokesperson Iwan Arbianto said that the emergency road was opened at 6:20 a.m., accompanied by police.
Since the road was opened, traffic on the toll road immediately increased but remained smooth. Police are on duty along the road every 5 kilometers.
The return traffic is becoming increasingly crowded on the Palimanan-Cikopo toll road. A queue of vehicles of around 2 kilometers has developed at the toll gate entrance to Jakarta. Based on PT Lintas Marga Sedaya data, as of 2:00 p.m., the number of vehicles headed toward Jakarta reached 22,289 units. This is a 13 percent increase from the same period on the previous day.
On the southern road of West Java, a contraflow traffic system has been implemented because of the increase in the number of vehicles. The contraflow system has also been implemented on the Tasikmalaya-Nagreg road, but not yet on the Garut-Nagreg road.
Based on observations by Kompas, traffic from Tasikmalaya to Nagreg and to Bandung city has begun to increase. Traffic is congested at the entrance to Jl. Raya Limbangan. Vehicles are slowing because of the many vehicles going in and out of Limbangan Market.
After the market, traffic is still congested because vehicles must queue to go through the Cikaledong intersection in Bandung regency. The intersection connects Jl. Raya Limbangan to the Nagreg Ring Road by an overpass. The flow of traffic at the intersection has started to ease with the implementation of the contraflow system.
Crossings
From Sumatera, the number of returning travelers crossing from Bakauheni Port to Merak Port has reached only 21 percent of all travelers.
“The peak of the return flow is predicted to hit from Friday to Sunday,” said Mario Sardadi Utomo, a Merak-based public relations staff with state-owned ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry.
