Free Transportation for Motorcycles Still Available

KOMPAS/BAHANA PATRIA GUPTA

A worker arranges motorbikes that have just arrived from Jakarta in the Pasar Turi railway station in Surabaya on Monday (20/5/2019) and are to be sent to Madura Island. Trains offering free motorcycle transfer services continue to increase. For reasons of security and convenience for when they are in their hometowns a number of travelers send their motorcycles by train or take part in free homecoming programs provided by various agencies.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The quota of free transportation for motorcycles during the homebound exodus via ships is still available, while the quota on trains is already full. This free transportation program is an effort to reduce the number of travelers using motorcycles so that the number of motorcycle traffic accidents can be minimized.

The free transportation quota in 2019 is 21,846 motorcycles, consisting of 18,096 motorcycles transported by train and 3,750 transported by ship. The transportation by ships is open from March 15 to June 1, serving the Jakarta-Semarang and Jakarta-Lampung routes.

The Transportation Ministry land transportation director general Setiyadi said that one of the reasons why the quota was still available was because many people could not show a valid driver\'s license (SIM) and vehicle registration number (STNK).

"These two documents are a prerequisite for enjoying this free service," he said on Friday (24/5/2019) in Jakarta.

The number of homebound travelers that will ride motorcycles this year is expected to increase 10.7 percent to 6.8 million from 6.1 million last year.

Based on a survey conducted by the Transportation Ministry\'s Research and Development Agency, for the Jabodetabek region alone, 942,621 people will ride motorcycles to travel home.

Zulmafenin, director of traffic and railway transportation at the Transportation Ministry, said the free transportation for motorbikes involved the motorbikes being transported to railway stations, such as

Lempuyangan Station, Yogyakarta; Prujakan Cirebon Station; Klaten Station; and Kebumen Station.

KOMPAS/WISNU WIDIANTORO

People travel on motorbikes along Jl. Pantai Utara in Bulakamba, Brebes, Central Java, on a Monday in June last year (11/6/2018). Travelers using motorcycles are forced to endure bad weather and burning sunIight.

Not interested yet

Yoga, 31, a resident of Pekalongan, said this year he planned to ride a motorcycle to reach his hometown. He lives in Bekasi, West Java, and it takes around seven hours to get to his hometown.

Even though going to his hometown on a motorcycle is tiring, Yoga said he was not interested in taking part in the free transportation for motorcycles because he did not have the time to register.

Soegijapranata Catholic University (Unika) transportation researcher Djoko Sedijowarno said the free transportation needed to be popularized more so that it was more attractive to the community.

"During a similar free transportation program in 2018, I saw the ship was still empty. Many spaces were not used," he said.

The more people that transport their motorcycles by train or ship, the more accidents can be prevented.

Based on data from the National Police Traffic Corps, traffic accidents during the mass exodus were dominated by motorcycles. In 2017, there were 2,731 motorcycles accidents.

In 2018, the number dropped to 1,666 accidents. This decrease was in line with the increasing number of homebound travelers that transported their motorcycles by train or ship.

According to Djoko, one of the factors that caused an increase in the number of motorcycles travelers this year was that many people from outside Jakarta had migrated to the capital city to become online motorcycle taxi drivers in recent times.

KOMPAS/WISNU WIDIANTORO

An officer arranges the queues of motorists waiting to board a ferryboat that will carry them to Bakauheni Port in Lampung from Merak Port, Banten, on a Tuesday in June last year (12/6/2018). The Transportation Ministry predicted the number of motorbike travelers from Java could reach 6 million in 2019.

.Unlike the low participation in free transportation for motorcycles by ship, the free transportation for motorbikes by train has seen high demand.

To facilitate homebound travelers taking non-toll roads, the Transportation Ministry has also prepared around 30 rest areas along the route on Java. The availability of rest areas is considered important because fatigue can be a trigger for accidents.

The Transportation Ministry has also installed a traffic counting device to record the number of motorcycles during the homebound exodus. The tools are installed on routes to Merak, Karawang, Cirebon and Bogor. (DVD/XTI/IKI)