State-owned passenger ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry has reported that more than 14,000 vehicles and 55,000 passengers from Java have crossed to Sumatra via Merak Port by Saturday, ahead of two national holidays this week.
tate-owned passenger ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (ASDP) has reported that more than 14,000 vehicles and 55,000 passengers from Java have crossed to Sumatra via Merak Port by Saturday, ahead of two national holidays this week.
The Merak port is the main access point for travelers looking to take a ferry into Sumatra via the Bakauheni port in Lampung.
Indonesians are to enjoy a five-day holiday from Saturday to Wednesday, which centers around public holidays commemorating the ascension of Prophet Muhammad on Monday and Chinese New Year on Wednesday.
“The peak of traffic [from Merak to Bakauheni] was on Saturday, with passenger and vehicle volumes increasing by more than 100 percent compared with last year’s figures,” said ASDP corporate secretary Shelvy Arifin, as quoted by tempo.co.
The 14,262 vehicles that had crossed via Merak port included 3,583 motorcycles and 6,558 buses. The company did not mention what kind of vehicles the remaining were.
The figure marked an increase of 130 percent from the number of vehicles and 133 percent from the number of passengers during last year’s holidays.
"Our services have been running smoothly so far, despite the surge in traffic," Shelvy of ASDP said.
ASDP has increased the number of ferry services to and from Merak port and Bakaheuni port from 91 trips a day to 103 for the long holiday season.
Shelvy also encouraged the public to use the online ticket reservation service through the Ferizy app. Online reservations help manage the flow of vehicles and passengers more effectively while reducing queues at the ports.
To prevent a pile-up at the Merak port, the Transportation Ministry’s director general for sea transportation Antoni Arif Priadi previously said that freight and tanker trucks would be diverted to nearby Bojonegara Port and Ciwandan Port in Serang.
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