Police calls against the use of motorcycles for the Idul Fitri exodus seem to have fallen on deaf ears, with the Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ) and Indonesian Consumers’ Protection Foundation (YLKI) predicting the number of motorists will increase by 20 percent compared to last year.
“We predict 1.6 million people from Jakarta will use motorcycles [for the exodus],” YLKI executive board member Tulus Abadi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
This means 72 percent of the 2.2 million travelers this year will use motorcycles, regardless of police warnings aimed at reducing the death toll in the holiday season, which reached 417 last year.
Tulus, who is also a member of the DTKJ, said many people preferred travelling by motorcycle because of the poor quality of public transportation available.
A lack of supervision by the Jakarta Transportation Agency has caused many problems, he said.
“For example, last year we still found bus operators charging passengers unofficial levies during the journey. They even forced some passengers to get off buses,” Tulus said.
The foundation also found that the administration had failed to provide sufficient public vehicles, and said many of the vehicles were not designed or prepared for long journeys. “We even found drivers who had little knowledge of their routes,” he said.
Tulus said the public also preferred to take their own vehicles to cut traveling costs. Both institutions, however, encouraged travelers to use public transportation.
Iskandar Abubakar, a member of the DTKJ, urged people not to travel during peak times, or after Wednesday, two days before Idul Fitri, which this year falls on Sept. 10.
Jakarta Transportation Agency secretary Hasbi Hasibuan said the public transportation his office provided was adequate in terms of quality and quantity.
“We have provided additional public vehicles to accommodate this year’s Idul Fitri travelers, whose number is expected to increase 10 percent to about 2.2 million,” Hasbi told reporters at a meeting with the DTKJ and the YLKI.
This year the agency has provided 6,114 buses and 522 additional vehicles. According to agency data, 12 backup terminals throughout the city were also ready to support Jakarta’s four main bus terminals — Lebak Bulus, Kalideres, Pulogadung and Kampung Rambutan.
“There are also 240 planes with a combined capacity of 36,118 seats and 24 ships with a total capacity of 29,706 seats,” Hasbi said.
He added that 37 locomotives and 264 train carriages with a capacity of 48,840 seats would also be ready to transport travelers.
“We have also made several preparations to improve our services. For example, health posts will be established at all bus terminals to check drivers’ urine several hours before they are scheduled to drive,” Hasbi said.
The tests would be conducted in efforts to make sure drivers had not taken drugs, which were believed to have contributed to traffic accidents in past years, he said.
As of this weekend, the agency will also deploy 75 plainclothes officers to monitor and detect violations including reckless driving and illegal fares. The agency will also establish monitoring posts at each terminal.
“Travelers can report problems to our Idul Fitri hotlines [021] 4135 1750 or [021] 345 7471,” he said. (rch)
