Up to 600,000 vacationers may not be able get a Merak-Bakauheni ferry, connecting Java and Sumatra Islands, on time for the annual Idul Fitri celebrations this year.
Port operator PT Indonesia Ferry's Bakauheni branch office has predicted a 10 percent increase in the number of passengers making the crossing during this year's annual exodus, or about 1.8 million. Unfortunately, the hike has not been matched with a corresponding increase in ferry services and ships serving the crossing.
With 33 ferries and seven speed ships prepared, the port will be able to transport only around 1.2 million passengers, meaning there will potentially be up to 600,000 travellers unable to celebrate Idul Fitri in their hometowns on time.
"To anticipate an excess of both passengers and vehicles, we will speed up ferry departure times," branch office operational manager Zailis Anas said Monday.
If during normal times ships are given 15 minutes to load and 15 minutes to unload, during the annual exodus they would be allowed to leave the port immediately once they were already fully loaded, he said.
"So, they won't need to wait for 15 minutes *to depart*," Zailis said.
The number of trips would also increase from 80 per day during normal times to 96 per day during the annual exodus, he said.
For security and comfort reasons, Zailis said his office had also prepared a 15 by 20 meter room for vacationers to use if they had to stay overnight at the port. The room is around 15 meters from the electric ticket counter.
"It can accommodate up to 200 vacationers," he said.
If necessary, the newly built Pier V could also be opened, serving two ships a day, to support the four other piers already in operation, each of which serves up to six ships a day, PT Indonesia Ferry Merak operational manager Endin Juhaendi said.
Endin was also optimistic that there would not be an excess of vehicles, because of the port's vast parking area as well as the ban on trucks traveling during the annual exodus, from four days prior to Idul Fitri (Sept. 21 and 22 this year).
"This will provide more room for vacationers," Endin said.
The Indonesian Consumers Institution Foundation (YLKI) was pessimistic, however, especially with regard to old ships on the route, since older ferries took between 1 and 1.5 hours to load and unload.
"They should have been replaced with the newer ones. There have been frequent accidents because older ferries continuing to serve the crossing," YLKI Lampung chairman Subadrayani Moersalin said.
In a related development, Lampung Police will deploy 6,000 personnel to safeguard the annual exodus, as of Sept. 14.
"We will also place snipers at a number of notorious crime spots along the Trans-Sumatra road," Lampung Police chief Brig. Gen. Ferial Manaf said Monday.
| 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|