The Peak of the Return Flow, Added Bakauheni Ferry Boat Trips
As the night went on, the queue to Bakauheni Harbor got longer. However, conditions are still under control.
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Queue of vehicles entering the ferry at Bakauheni Harbor, Lampung, Sunday (14/4/2024).
BAKAUHENI, KOMPAS – The volume of reverse flow crossings from Sumatra to Java increased rapidly on Sunday (14/4/2024). The queue of vehicles snaked to the outside of Bakauheni Harbor, Lampung. Only 35 percent of travelers return from Sumatra to Java. Long queues are expected to continue this Monday.
Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that together with other related parties, they had improved various schemes so that the accumulation of vehicles in the reverse flow was not as severe as during the homecoming flow at Merak Port which resulted in long traffic jams.
The basic improvement made, said Budi, was to increase ship movements from 131 trips to 146 trips per day. “Ships that exceed (the waiting time) 45 minutes, they have to go. "The Sailing Approval Letter (SPB) must also be executed in less than five minutes so there is no significant delay," said Budi while monitoring the return flow at Bakauheni Port.
Based on Kompas observations, the volume of vehicles has increased in various ferries at Bakauheni Port. On the express ferry, the length of the queue is around 300 meters, consisting of six lanes. The queue gets longer in the afternoon and evening. However, towards midnight, the queue starts to decrease. There are no more queues outside the port.
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Officers check tickets belonging to passengers who will enter the ferry at Bakauheni Port, Lampung, Sunday (14/4/2024).
Dicky (26), a traveler from Palembang heading to Tangerang Selatan, stated that his journey from Palembang to Lampung took four hours, which is considered normal.
However, there is a buildup of passengers at certain points due to ticket checks on some buffer zones. He was allotted a ticket check at kilometer (km) 20.
Upon arriving at Bakauheni Port, he and his family still had to wait for their turn to board the ferry. They had been queuing for 2.5 hours, but had not yet been able to board the ferry until midnight.
Also read: Homecoming flow begins, one direction and "contraflow" applies
“The queue for the crossing this year feels longer than in previous years. "Maybe it's because of the transition of the ticket purchasing system from offline to online," said Dicky.
A different experience is felt by motorcycle traveler, Eprilia (22). Her journey from North Lampung to Bakauheni went quite smoothly. The duration of time needed to enter the queue was less than 30 minutes.
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Long lines of vehicles started to appear at the Merak Port in Banten on Friday (5/4/2024). Despite the increasing number of vehicles, the situation that night seemed busy but smooth.
Until 6:30 pm, the queue began to snake in front of the gate of Bakauheni Port. The line was dominated by private cars. Other modes of transportation were minibusses and buses.
The officers hold vehicles in front of the gate if the queue to enter the ship in the port is still crowded. However, the queue in front of the gate is still under control with a length of around 300 meters.
Also read: The queue at Bakauheni is getting longer, only 20 percent of homecoming travelers cross to Java
The government and several stakeholders, including port operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero), project that Sunday (14/4/2024) will be the peak of the return flow. This is because private sector employees start working on Monday (15/4/2024).
Budi assessed that the policy of civil servants working from home on Tuesday (4/16/2024) and Wednesday (4/17/2024) was a relaxation aimed at reducing vehicle density. Today's traffic movement is still relatively smooth.
“Today it is still relatively gentle. "So the size of the number of ships that must be operated is still relatively flat," he said.
Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy, Lampung Governor Arinal Djunaidi, Head of the National Police Traffic Corps Inspector General Aan Suhanan also monitored Bakauheni Port. Also present were Lampung Regional Police Chief Inspector General Helmy Santika and Utama Director of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) Ira Puspadewi.
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Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi during a press conference at Bakauheni Port, Lampung, on Sunday (14/4/2024). The Lebaran homecoming wave continues at Bakauheni Port, Lampung. On Saturday (13/4/2024),...
The Lampung Regional Police also classified the density of vehicle volume at Bakauheni Port as green, meaning safe and controlled. This condition is being maintained. On land routes, both central, west, and east crossings are still classified as green.
“If it's yellow, it means we have to operate more aggressively. If it's red, it means it's solid. The ship must be operated practically, that is, after unloading it moves straight from Bakauheni and also moves straight from Merak. "As soon as you finish unloading, go straight back again," said Helmy.
Also read: More than half of travelers have not returned to Jakarta
Helmy added that a number of schemes have been prepared to prevent the accumulation of vehicles, namely a delaying system for entering the port or a delaying system as well as implementing a buffer zone. This zone is located in a number of rest areas on the Trans Sumatra Toll Road.
"The Ministry of Transportation's Improvements were implemented properly so that the impact on the outside or onto the roads, tolls and arteries is still green. This means that we have not implemented a delaying system. "This scheme will be implemented if Bakauheni Port is overloaded," said Aan.
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Prospective passengers carry their children while queuing to enter the ferry at Bakauheni Harbor, Lampung, Sunday (14/4/2024).
He added that road monitoring is still relatively smooth from South Sumatra, Banten, to Jakarta. Homecoming travelers are reminded to maintain their stamina and not get carried away by the smoothness of the roads by speeding while driving.
"Keep controlling your speed so that safety becomes the main thing in order to get to your destination," said Aan.
According to data from the Bakauheni ASDP Post, there are a total of 37 operating ships, both on the Bakauheni-Merak and Panjang-Ciwandan routes.
Cumulatively, the number of passengers returning from Sumatra to Java between Thursday (11/4/2024) and Sunday (14/4/2024) at 12.00 was 292,814 people. This figure represents 35 percent of the total number of passengers who departed from Java to Sumatra during the homecoming season, which was 835,718 people.
A similar trend occurs in the counting of vehicles that have returned from Sumatra to Java. There are already 67,557 units of vehicles that have returned to Java, or 34 percent of the 196,287 units that had traveled from Java to Sumatra.
