Minister Of Transportation Says Backflow From Bakauheni Port To Merak Is Still Sloping

A number of prospective ship passengers are in the regular terminal of Bakauheni Port, Lampung/ANTARA

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that the backflow on the fourth day after Eid al-Fitr 1445 Hijriah from Sumatra Island to Java Island through Bakauheni Port, Lampung, has not shown a significant increase in passengers or vehicles.

"With the relaxation carried out yesterday, today (the flow back) is still relatively sloping," Budi told reporters at Bakauheni Port, Lampung, as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, April 14.

Budi Karya said that the relaxation in the form of a policy to abolish the validity period of tickets for the first 24 hours imposed during April 11-21, 2024 had an impact on the relatively sloping backflow up to D+4 Lebaran.

"So according to the size of the number of ships that must be operated, it is still relatively sloping," he said.

In addition, Minister of Transportation Budi also appreciated the Lampung Regional Police for implementing a backflow vehicle handling mechanism with a green, yellow and red pattern.

When the condition of the backflow of the vehicle is in red, he said, it means that it is very crowded so that many ships have to be operated quickly from Bakauheni Port to Merak Port.

"From here (Bakauheni Port) the ship went straight to there (Merak Port), unloaded, returned from there without loading," he said.

Budi said, to anticipate the surge in passengers and backflow vehicles at Bakauheni Port, his party also operates the Panjang Port for the crossing to Ciwandan Port, Banten.

The Minister of Transportation hopes that residents who travel back and forth can take advantage of ship services at Panjang Port which are still guarded on every voyage.

Based on the monitoring of backflow conditions at Bakauheni Port on Sunday (14/4) afternoon, the return flow of passengers and vehicles went smoothly.

Pedestrian passengers arriving at the regular terminal can also immediately take care of the completeness of the ticket without waiting for the queue.

Only prospective passengers use two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles lining up for the ship's entrance that has been prepared. The queue of vehicles also only occurs inside the port area or does not overflow outside the port gate.