Expectations Of Crossing Transportation Entrepreneurs During Eid, No Tightening

General Chairperson of the National Association of River, Lake and Ferry Transport Entrepreneurs (Gaspasdap) Khoiri Soetomo/Antara

EAST JAVA - The National Association of River, Lake, and Ferry Transport Entrepreneurs (Gaspasdap) hope that the government will not tighten the Eid al-Fitr holiday in May 2022.

General Chairperson of Gaspasdap Khoiri Soetomo, asked that there be no restrictions on community mobility to carry out the Eid homecoming because the government is considered capable of controlling the spread of the Coronavirus.

"For Eid transportation later, learning from Christmas and New Year's 2021 transportation which is quite successful, we ask for Eid this time there will be no restrictions like last year," said Khoiri in Batu City, East Java, as reported by Antara, Saturday, January 29.

Khoiri explained that the river, lake, and crossing operators understand that there are concerns regarding the potential for the spread of the Coronavirus when there is an increase in community mobility, especially during the Eid holiday.

However, he continued, reflecting on the implementation of the 2021 Christmas and New Year celebrations, the government did not tighten it as it did in previous years since the disease pandemic due to the spread of the Coronavirus occurred.

"However, we also understand that in the midst of these difficulties, the people also need services, both for logistics and for the interests of passengers," he said.

Expectations related to the absence of tightening during the 2022 Eid holiday, he continued, are in line with the achievement of vaccinations in Indonesia. Indonesia is one of the countries that is considered successful in carrying out the COVID-19 vaccination and reducing the spread of the Coronavirus.

When the people's mobility was tightened during the Eid holiday in the previous year, the crossing business operators suffered quite high losses. It was noted, at the end of 2020, the loss reached 70 percent compared to before the pandemic.

Meanwhile, in 2021, he continued, conditions had started to improve, especially at the end of the year. Although it has started to improve at the end of 2021, the number of passengers and motorbikes using crossing services has not yet recovered.

However, for logistics vehicles that use crossing services, it is noted that they have started to improve compared to the previous time.

"Losses at the end of 2020 will reach 70 percent, while in 2021 it will not be as big as before. For the percentage of passengers in 2021, there will be a decrease, motorcycles will also go down, but for logistics vehicles, they are still well maintained," he added.

With these conditions, entrepreneurs hope that during the 2022 Eid holiday the government can take steps not to impose restrictions. However, the increase in community mobility must also be accompanied by the implementation of very strict health protocols.

"Our hope is that it can be carried out like during Christmas and New Year's transportation. At that time, the government implements adequate health procedures so the economy can run. Vaccination is also a consideration," he said.

For information, since the outbreak of the disease due to the spread of the Coronavirus in Indonesia, the government has always implemented restrictions during the Eid celebration holiday. At that time, the majority of Indonesians had not yet received an injection of the COVID-19 vaccination.

Currently, based on data from the COVID-19 Task Force, as of Friday, January 28, the number of residents who have received a complete dose of the vaccine has reached 127.16 million, with details of 183.67 million people have received the first dose and 127.16 million receiving the second dose.