Eid Homecoming Flow at Merak Port to Peak Today, Tomorrow

Thousands of cars started to pack several docks at Merak Port, Cilegon, Banten ahead of Eid al-Fitr. State-owned ferry operator ASDP Indonesia Ferry at Merak recorded 114,424 homecomers had crossed, increased by 99.4 percent compared to last year’s at 57,384 passengers as of D day -5 of Eid.

Based on the data, the number of travelers in Merak port was dominated by two-wheeled vehicles which reached up to 8,639, increased by 190 percent compared to last year at 2,977.

General Manager of ASDP Indonesia Ferry at Merak, Fahmi Alweni, said that despite the increase, he predicted the peak will occur on Monday and Tuesday, June 11-12, 2018. “Private cars and motorcycle traffic are quite high from Saturday night until Sunday. But that was not the peak,” he noted.

Fahmi said his party had anticipated the peak of Eid’s homecoming flow that was estimated to occur earlier than back in 2017. “We had prepared the infrastructure and facilities by adding the counter and tollgate,” he said.

ASDP had opened 31 units counters and tollgate for passenger, 34 units of gates for motorcycles, and 17 gates for cars. “We hope everything works out. The homecomers can use the ferry services on daylight as it is less pack than at night,” Fahmi said.

Banten Transportation Agency head Herdi Jauhari explained the Eid homecoming flow was still running smoothly without any obstacle thus far. Based on Tempo observation on Sunday night, the density of passengers and vehicles still occurred at six piers at Merak Port. A number of officers at each dock strived to manage the traffic to alleviate the queue.

courtesy : Tempo.co
photo : Poskota News

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