There were around 165 thousand passengers (from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning), higher than (during the homecoming period) last year, which was only 155 thousand.
S Lampung, Lampung (ANTARA) - National Police chief, General Listyo Sigit Prabowo; Indonesian Defence Force (TNI) commander, Admiral Yudo Margono; and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi reviewed the 2023 Eid al-Fitr exodus situation at Bakauheni Port here on Thursday.

"Today, the three of us and our staff directly monitored (homecoming activities), especially the crossing services," the national police chief informed.

His entourage reviewed crossing activities from Merak Port and Ciwandan Port in Banten province to Bakauheni Port and Panjang Port in Lampung province.

"According to the reports, from last night (Wednesday) until today, there has been an increase in the number of travelers (ferry passengers)," he noted.

Prabowo informed that according to the data, the number of passengers boarding ships from Wednesday (April 19, 2023) evening to Thursday morning showed an increase compared to the Eid homecoming period last year.

"There were around 165 thousand passengers (from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning), higher than (during the homecoming period) last year, which was only 155 thousand," he stated.

It is possible that there would still be a surge in the number of passengers on Thursday afternoon or evening, Prabowo added.

Furthermore, he lauded the officers carrying out traffic engineering at three ports, namely Ciwandan, Merak, and Bandar Bakau Jaya.

Meanwhile, Minister Sumadi brought attention to efforts to control the volume of vehicles entering the ports, which allowed the volume-to-capacity (V/C) ratio to be maintained below 1, meaning the traffic was still running smoothly.

“(However) If the V/C ratio has reached 0.8, that means it is already (at) a warning (level). In the last two days at Merak Port, it (the ratio) has reached 0.85, while during the previous days, it was still between 0.5 and 0.6," he added.

He also appealed to all stakeholders to anticipate the crowded traffic of logistics transport vehicles in the future, as seen at Ciwandan Port some time ago.

The Religious Affairs Ministry has announced that the Islamic holy day would be observed on April 22 this year.

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Translator: Riadi Gunawan, Uyu Liman
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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