There Is A WFA Policy, The Movement Of Travelers At Merak Port Increases

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - The Work from Anywhere (WFA) policy implemented by the government ahead of Lebaran 2025 has had an impact on increasing the movement of travelers since last weekend.

A total of 88,396 people and 20,887 vehicles have crossed from Java to Sumatra via Merak Port.

The government itself implemented the WFA policy from March 24 to March 27. This WFA scheme applies to state civil servants (ASN) and also State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).

ASDP Corporate Secretary Shelvy Arifin said the total number of passengers and vehicles that had crossed was an accumulation of the movement of travelers from Friday, March 21 or D-10 to Saturday, March 22 or D-9 Eid Al-Fitr 2025.

"This number has increased by 47 percent compared to the same period last year, with the dominance of four-wheeled vehicles experiencing a significant spike," said Jakarta, Sunday, March 23.

Shelvy said the increase in the number of service users of ferries, especially private four-wheeled vehicles, occurred because people wanted to avoid overcrowding and choose to leave early.

Even so, Shelvy said, this spike has been predicted considering that this year's Eid holiday is longer because it is close to Nyepi Day.

"We estimate that around 30,000 small vehicles will cross through Merak Port on March 27 to 29. Therefore, some of the queues of vehicles will be diverted to Indah Kiat Port so as not to pile up onto the main road," he said.

Regarding the queue for vehicles that occurred at the end of last week, Shelvy said it was caused by a significant increase in the number of travelers and the impact of the improvement of Merak Pier VI.

The ASDP is speeding up the repair of Pier VI after the incident was hit by KMP Portlink III. Currently, the loading and unloading process of vehicles is maximized through the side ramp of the ship to the car deck, which takes longer than the normal mechanism," he explained.

Shelvy also said ASDP continues to strive to optimize services so that the trip remains smooth.

Service users are advised to comply with the scheduled departure on tickets and arrive at the port according to the specified time.

"We ensure that vehicles arriving according to ticket schedule will receive priority queues by boat. We are grateful for the cooperation of service users in creating more orderly and comfortable trips," said Shelvy.