Ferry Remains In Service During Chinese New Year Holiday

The company’s operational manager in Bakauheni branch, Heru Purwanto, said although the traffic was not as busy as in the Christmas and New Year holiday season, the crossings traffic in some of the busiest routes in Indonesia shows an average increase of 5-8 percent. They were running safely and smoothly during the Chinese New Year 2567 celebration. “On Monday afternoon, the passengers flow from Bakauheni to Merak run normally. The traffic is expected to increase tomorrow night until early morning on the next day, which will be dominated by private cars and motorcycles," Mr. Purwanto said, Monday (2/8).

 

He said that the management has been anticipating Monday night’s crossing peak, given on Tuesday (2/9), the people will start to work normally. “We predict that tonight’s traffic will be dominated by private cars and motorcycles by 30-40 percent compared to the normal traffic. Trucks number is certainly reduced, because many businesses are off,” he added.

 

In Bakauheni Port, nine counters for vehicles have been provided. It includes two counters for motorcycles and seven counters for private cars. Currently, 27 ships operate normally in the route of Merak-Bakauheni. However, the availability of the ships can be added if there is a significant jump.

 

Meanwhile, in Merak Port, the condition is still normal. Until Monday afternoon, there have been 4,230 people, 1,122 motorcycles, 2,097 private cars, 234 buses, and 1,014 trucks that crossed to Bakauheni Port.

 

"We continue to coordinate with Bakauheni Port to keep traffic smooth. At the port we are also coordinating with the terminal, in order to avoid the rise of passengers. It is important to keep the docking smooth," said the public relations manager of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) of Merak branch, Mario S. Oetomo.

 

According to the weather report, Merak Port will experience light rain, however the shipping safety will not be disrupted.

 

In the meantime, the operational manager of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) of Ketapang branch, Susianto Wahyudi, said the crossings are still running, but the return flow from Gilimanuk Port is expected to continue rising until Tuesday (2/9) morning. “It is estimated that the traffic during peak hours will increase by15-20 percent,” he said.

 

He acknowledged although it is not as heavy as during the Christmas and New Year season, 29 vessels are operating at maximum capacity on the route of Ketapang-Gilimanuk.

 

Such conditions are similar in the route of Padang Bai-Lembar, which is also dominated by the motorcycles and private cars. The increase was at 10 percent. About 29 vessels are servicing this route at maximum capacity. “Everything is stable. Even though there is a decrease in the truck traffic by up to 20 percent, the number of private car and motorcycle is increasing," said the operational manager of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) of Padang Bai Branch, Wayan Rosta.

 

According to Rosta, a decrease in the number of truck services is triggered by the collapse of Jembrana Bridge on January 23, 2016. The companies change the use of large trucks into medium trucks. "There is a decrease from 24 trips to 20 trips per day," he said.

 

Meanwhile, according to the public relations officer of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) of Padang Bai-Lembar branch, Dheny Josa, there is no long queue reported, it is even relatively quiet. "In a day, there are 12 ships in operation and 24 crossing trips with the pattern of 4 hours sailing time and 50 minutes port time. Based on the data, during this Chinese New Year 2016 holiday there are no passenger, motorcycles, and private cars rising," he said.

 

Mr. Josa added that the celebration of National Press Day which took place in Lombok will not affect the operations of Padang Bai-Lembar Port. (Translator: Erik Limantara)