Encouraging the Use of Public Transportation

The government urges the community to go home using public transportation because it is more comfortable, has a definite departure schedule and is free of traffic jams

KOMPAS/P RADITYA MAHENDRA YASA

Homecomers from Kalimantan who have started arriving by sea transportation, one of which is the Lawit Motor Boat at Tanjung Emas Port, Semarang City, Central Java, Tuesday (11/4/2023). Migrants from various regions in Kalimantan began to return to their hometowns, most of which were in Central Java.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has encouraged people to use public transportation to prevent congestion on the toll road during the Lebaran 2023 homecoming season. As of Tuesday (11/4/2023), a number of aircraft, train and ship operators have ensure the availability of tickets to accommodate travelers. In addition, the operators expressed readiness to meet the needs of travelers and realize a safe homecoming.

"We urge the community to go home using public transportation because it is more comfortable, has a definite departure schedule and is free of traffic jams," said Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati in a discussion titled Readiness of the Implementation of Lebaran Transportation 1444 Hijriah 2023 by Sea, Air, and Railway at the Santika Premiere Hotel in Jakarta on Tuesday (11/4).

The discussion, which was held by Kompas Daily and the Transportation Ministry, was attended by Citilink president director Dewa Kadek Rai, State Railway Company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) commerce director Hadis Surya Palapa, president director of airport management company PT Angkasa Pura II M Awaluddin, Passenger Transportation Business director of State Shipping Company PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) Yahya Kuncoro and chairman of the Transportation Study Institute Darmaningtyas.

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Hadis Surya Palapa revealed that, as of Tuesday, around 1.3 million out of a total of 3 million train tickets were still available for the Lebaran transportation period 14 April-2 May.

Flight tickets at the Garuda Indonesia Group airline are also still available. Dewa Kadek Rai said ticket sales were still at 57 percent of the total 1.2 million tickets offered. "The public interest for going home is increasing. There is still time for customers to order tickets," said Dewa.

The journey of going home by boat is long enough, but fasting time is good to pray on the ship by looking at the stars.

To support the use of public transportation, sea, land and train transportation operators are providing discounts and free homecoming programs. PT KAI is providing a 20 percent discount for the departure of 14-17 April, while PT Pelni has a free motorcycle homecoming program for 2023 with the Jakarta-Semarang route and the Ciwandan-Panjang crossing.

Yahya said travelers by ship were forecast to reach 604,183 people. So far, 149,949 tickets have been sold out or 66 percent of the homecoming quota. "The journey of going home by boat is long enough, but fasting time is good to pray on the ship by looking at the stars," said Yahya.

FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Train passengers walk towards the waiting area at Pasar Senen Station, Central Jakarta, Tuesday (11/4/2023). Approaching Idul Fitri 2023, passengers at Pasar Senen Station have not increased significantly.

According to Darmaningtyas, the government’s actions to stem the homecoming flow on the toll road is appropriate. However, other efforts are needed so that the density of land routes is divided. "In the future, the government can facilitate free homecoming for residents unable to use regular public transportation, such as the AKAP, AKDP [intercity bus services] or village transportation for 14 days," he said.

In a separate event, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo asked his staff to calculate the details of the homecoming flow. The number of travelers this year is predicted to surge from 86 million people to 123 million people, up 45 percent.

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"All must be counted. Earlier I asked in detail because I did not want last year's incident happens again this year," said the President while chairing a limited meeting with a number of Indonesian cabinet ministers at the Port of Merak in Banten.

Some necessary adjustments, he said, were the smoothing the homecoming flow at the port of Merak and congestion on the toll road. "In last year's homecoming there was a point that we had to fix and the big point was in the port of Merak and on the toll road," said the President.

Vulnerable points

The government and the police anticipate accident-prone points and congestion. In Cirebon, West Java, the application of a one-way system on the toll road will have an impact on the north coast of Cirebon. Cirebon City Police are anticipating the traffic density by being on a standby at traffic jam-prone points to divert the flow to alternative roads.

In Lampung, there are at least nine accident-prone points. The head of the Lampung National Road Implementation Center, Rien Marlia, said the nine points were spread in the east, central and western parts of the trans-Sumatra road.

The government and the police anticipate accident-prone points and congestion.

Ten accident-prone points are also recorded on the trans-Sumatera Toll Road, in the Bakauheni-Terbanggi Besar (Bakter) section, and the Terbanggi Besar-Pematang Panggang-Kayu Agung (Terpeka) section. "Among them are in Kilometer 15-20 of the Bakter toll road and Km 185-191 of the Terpeka toll road," said director of Operations III of PT Hutama Karya Koentjoro.

In South Sumatra there are 48 locations prone to traffic jams and 44 accident-prone areas spread across 17 regencies/cities. The most vulnerable point is in Betung and the Sungai Lilin that connects South Sumatra with Jambi. ( WKM/VIO/IKI/RAM/Z06/ Z05/ Z02/ Z14 )

This article was translated by Hyginus Hardoyo.