Chairman of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction at the House of Representatives (DPR) Mustafa Kamal said the government should improve public transportation services for the travelers.
Besides the security and safety factor, he said, the road worthiness of the various modes of transportation should also be of great concern to the government.
Mustafa Kamal said transportation feasibility , passengers security and safety were frequently ignored when the Lebaran holiday exodus reached its peak.
"Considering that around 56.35 percent of the holiday travelers will return home by motorcycles and 30.78 percent by private cars this year, we are afraid an increase in the number of traffic accidents will be inevitable," Mustafa said.
According to him, most traffic accidents that have happened so far involved motorcycles, followed by buses, trucks, and containers.
He said that during the Lebaran holiday season in 2009 and 2010, the Transportation Ministry`s performance in transportation services was not up to optimum standards.
Mustafa pointed out that during the 2010 Lebaran holiday exodus, a total of 1,098 traffic accidents happened across the country with a material loss of Rp4.17 billion.
Lebaran or Idul Fitri is the biggest holiday in Indonesia when shopping malls and bazaars are usually packed with people that create a distinctive festive atmosphere and traffic mayhem.
During that period it is common for people to engage in the so-called "mudik" activity, an annual tradition in which people living in big cities travel to their home towns or villages to request forgiveness or just to celebrate Lebaran with their relatives.
Although the government has been building transportation infrastructures every year to accommodate the huge numbers of travelers, millions of cars and motorcycles usually jam the roads and highways, causing kilometer-long traffic jams each year.
(Uu.O001/HAJM)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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