"We will commence the trial this weekend to observe the implementation and potential issues from the trial," Deputy Mayor of Yogyakarta Heroe Poerwadi stated in Yogyakarta on Wednesday.
Tour buses will be required to apply for a city-entry permit at the Giwangan Terminal following which each passenger's documents will be checked and the permit will be granted if all the requirements are met, the deputy mayor explained.
A sticker and parking card would be provided to buses passing the checks, which will allow them access to the city's three reopened parking centers on Abu Bakar Ali, Senopati, and Ngabean roads, he informed.
The tour bus screening is aimed to control bus and tourist entry to the city amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Poerwadi said. He confirmed tourism actors in the city will be notified about the trial beforehand.
Meanwhile, Yogyakarta Transportation Office Head Agus Arif said the requirement of bus stickers and parking cards to access parking centers would ensure all arriving tour buses apply for the permit at Giwangan Terminal.
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"Without the bus sticker and the parking card, they cannot access the parking centers, and we will penalize tour buses that park outside the parking centers," Arif informed.
With a total capacity of 127 buses, the three parking centers can accommodate up to 150 tour buses, which is the average number of tour bus arrivals on the weekends, he said.
Forty extra waiting spaces will be made available at Giwangan Terminal for the permitted tour buses, he said.
The authorities are currently preparing a mobile application, Peduli Jogja (Yogyakarta Cares), to regulate tour bus movement from Giwangan Terminal to the designated parking points at the three parking centers, Arif added.
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Translator: Eka Arifa R, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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