T

he government has earmarked Rp 25 billion (US$2.5 million) from the 2013 state budget to improve safety for Idul Fitri holiday travelers.

The House of Representatives has approved the allocation of funds that would allow state transportation operators to ship motorbikes during the Idul Fitri holiday exodus, Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S Ervan.

'€œThe funds will be mainly used to subsidize state transportation operators who will ship motorcycles from Jakarta to many destinations, so that their owners will not have to ride them on their journey home,'€ Bambang said.

Some of the funds will be spent to hire trucks to transport the motorcycles. The state-owned railway operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) and state-owned shipping firm PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni) would also receive payments for providing spaces in their trains and ships to carry the motorcycles.

The motorbike shipments would be free of charge, Bambang said. '€œWe are ready to ship 216,705 motorcycles this year,'€ he said.

The figure, however, is far lower than the total number of 3 million motorbikes that holiday travelers will use to ride home this holiday season.

The ministry in fact had proposed Rp 124 billion for the service, but the House only approved Rp 25 billion.

In recent days, the government rolled out policies to help holiday travelers.

Earlier, state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina said it would sell gasoline outside gas stations to help travelers as fuel consumption would likely increase in excess of 30 percent during the Idul Fitri festivities.

Non-subsidized Pertamax gasoline, for example, will be available in gas stations around Bekasi, Cikampek and Pamanukan in West Java, where, based on experiences from previous years, are the places where most motorcyclists from Jakarta usually begin to run out of gas.

Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Brig. Boy Rafli Amar said that the police would take harsh measures to dissuade homeward-bound travelers from riding on motorbikes, especially with children onboard.

'€œPolice officers will stop any [motorcycles carrying more than two passengers] and ask them to get off their bikes. We are planning to provide busses for them to continue the journey. We do not want children to die during the trip,'€ Boy said.

In 2012, a total of 5,233 road accidents were recorded in the week before and after the Idul Fitri holiday, killing 908 people and injuring more than 6,000 others.

The accident number indicated an increase of 10.3 percent from the 2011 data when 4,744 accidents were recorded. As many as 72 percent of the accidents in 2012 involved motorcycles.

'€œI hope people planning to ride motorcycles will be eager to use this service so that the number of motorbike accidents can be reduced. Leave your motorcycles in our hands, please use other modes of public transportation to your home towns,'€ Bambang said.