"Among strategic issues that the government must take notice of is first, the necessity to conceive standard policies according to standard operating procedures to address traffic congestion issues recurring every year," the parliament's commission V chair, Lasarus, noted in his statement received here on Monday.
The second issue is the need to inform ship passengers about the time and weather conditions that may cause delays in the departure of ships to prevent the amassing of vehicles at ports, such as Merak Port in Banten, Bakauheni Port in Lampung, and Gilimanuk Port in Bali, he expounded.
The legislator remarked that the third issue is the need to accurately calculate the total number of transport ships required and arranged to cater to the exodus flows during the Eid al-Fitr holidays.
The government should also take measures to bolster coordination with public transport operators during the Eid al-Fitr period, especially to optimise the monitoring of ticket price surges, he explained.
"During last year's Eid al-Fitr, we experienced significant traffic congestion on some roads, with a tendency (of the congestion points) shifting from several years earlier," Lasarus remarked.
Related news: Road accident rate slides during Eid: minister
Lasarus pointed out that as compared to the 2019 Eid al-Fitr exodus period, public transport passengers declined by 22.6 percent, while residents travelling by private vehicles increased by 4.9 percent this year. Relaxation of travel restrictions enforced in the last two years was causal to the travel fluctuations, the legislator noted.
Despite a decline in the accident rate, traffic congestion that caused vehicles to stall at the same place for hours remains an issue that should be properly addressed by the government, he stressed.
"These evaluations must be implemented to (ensure that the Eid exodus is organised) better next year and (take steps to see that) congestion points (that) appeared this year will not occur again," Lasarus stated.
Related news: Eid exodus ran smoothly due to stakeholders' collaboration: Minister
Translator: M Zulfikar, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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