"All modes are being checked. Physical examination of vehicles will be carried out till June 24, 2016. Checks are not being carried out randomly; instead vehicles are being checked one-by-one." Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan saidJakarta (ANTARA News) - The government is conducting checks to determine the condition of vehicles that will be used to transport post-fasting Ied Fitr or Lebaran travelers who will be headed for their hometowns to celebrate the Muslim holiday festivities.
The Transportation Ministry is examining means of transport to be used for travel by air, land and sea to ensure the safety and security of homebound travelers, popularly known as pemudik. Such travels will start early next month.
"All modes are being checked. Physical examination of vehicles will be carried out till June 24, 2016. Checks are not being carried out randomly; instead vehicles are being checked one-by-one. Vehicles found not roadworthy will not be allowed to operate during the Lebaran transportation season," Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan said after a cabinet plenary session on the 2016 Revised State Budget (APBNP 2016) and Reports on Iid Fitr Preparations, held at the Presidential Palace last week.
Ignasius Jonan said this year the Ministry of Transportation will check 1,200-1,400 buses, locomotives, passenger trains, airplanes and ships.
"If say the tire of a bus does not have a valve lid or its window panes are broken, it could be repaired or replaced but if it has no speedometer, it must not operate. Vehicles will not be allowed to transport travelers if they have no speedometers or their brake lamps do not function. If the drivers do not have B1 driving license, they will not be allowed to drive, even though they may have the A category driving license," the minister said.
The minister said all public vehicles are to be examined before the Lebaran travel season so that public bus owners have enough time to rectify any flaw and ensure the vehicles measure up to the required standard of transportation safety.
Jonan said the Lebaran transportation season for land and air transportation will last for 22 days --- 12 days before D-Day 1 and 10 days after D-Day 2.
"However, the sea transportation season will last for 37 days --- 18 days before D-Day 1 and 17 days after D-Day 2," the minister added.
The Ministry of Transportation will also set up a national control command post at its office to supervise 48 type A bus terminals in 14 provinces, seven ferry service ports, 35 airports and all passenger stations in Java and Sumatra.
He said the land transportation fleet is expected to have 3-4 percent more buses, totaling 48 thousand buses. Similarly, the air transportation sector is expected to add 59 airplanes, taking the number from 510 to 569 airplanes.
The number of train locomotives is also expected to rise by 37 units, an increase of about eight percent from last year. Trains will increase in numbers by eight percent to 100 units. The number of ships will increase by 11 percent to 1,100 ships.
President Director of Railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), Edi Sukmoro, said recently in Cirebon, West Java, that this year, about 5.3 million travelers will use trains as their mode of transportation to go to their home towns.
"Last year, the number of train passengers during the Lebaran travel period had reached 5.1 million. If this year the number of pemudiks using trains reaches 5.3 million, it would mean a 5.5 percent increase."
To accommodate the peoples need for Lebaran transportation facilities, PT KAI is preparing 334 regular train trips, including long distance journeys, moderately long distance ones and local transportation.
It is preparing to ensure availability of 198,454 seats daily during this season for travelers who are home-town bound and those traveling in the reverse direction. "We are also preparing an additional 38 train departures with provision of 22,308 seats daily," the KAI president director said.
Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Sea Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation will conduct physical checks to evaluate the seaworthiness of 1,273 ships that will ferry Lebaran travelers.
Director General for Sea Transportation Antonious Tonny Budiono noted in a written statement last week (June 8) that Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan had ordered that the ships be evaluated to check their seaworthiness.
The orders came vide the ministers instruction No. IM 12 of 2016 regarding the examination of the worthiness of the means of transportation. "This is intended to guarantee the safety and security of the people using the transportation service. Any negligence or shortfall found during the examination will not be tolerated," he emphasized.
He said his side will soon follow up on the ministers directive by issuing the Instruction of the Directorate General of Sea Transportation No. UM.008/43/2/DJPL-16, Dated June 7, 2016, on the Examination of Seaworthiness of Passenger Ships within the framework of the 2016 Lebaran Transportation Service.
In his instruction, the director general had ordered the relevant agencies to carry out seaworthiness checks on 1,273 ships that will be used to transport Lebaran travelers. The checks will be conducted from June 6-12, 2016.
"The head offices of the technical units at the Sea Transportation Directorate General should physically check the ships seaworthiness. The results should be reported to the director general for further follow-up," he pointed out.(*)
Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
