Ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays, the flow of passengers and vehicles at Merak Port, Banten, was observed to be getting denser. Even so, the flow of vehicles at the port that connects Java and Sumatra is still monitored smoothly.
Corporate Secretary of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) Shelvy Arifin explained, based on data from the Merak Post for 24 hours (period 17 December 2022 at 08.00 WIB to 18 December 2022 at 08.00 WIB), there were recorded the number of vessels operating as many as 31 units of ships, an increase of 15 percent compared to last year’s realization.
Ship trips also experienced a 24 percent increase from 85 trips last year to 105 trips. Meanwhile, the realization of total passengers reached 37,902 people, an increase of 15 percent compared to the realization of the same period last year 33,000 people.
Regarding two-wheeled vehicles, this year it reached 1,002 units, up 55 percent compared to last year’s realization, while private 4-wheelers recorded 4,270 units, up 4 percent compared to the realization in the same period last year of 4,120 units.
“A total of 8,960 vehicles have crossed from Java to Sumatra on D-7, up 10 percent compared to the realization in the same period last year of 8,115 units,” he said in an official statement, quoted Monday (19/12/2022).
Meanwhile, Bakauheni Post data for 24 hours recorded ship trips had increased by 41 percent from 39 trips last year to 55 trips.
Meanwhile, the realization of pedestrian passengers was 1,466 people, up 373 percent compared to last year’s realization of 393 people, and passengers in vehicles were 15,400 people, up 133 percent compared to last year’s realization of 11,500 people.
Furthermore, the number of two-wheeled vehicles this year reached 387 units, up 96 percent compared to last year’s realization of 197 units, while private 4-wheeled vehicles were recorded at 1,863 units, up 39.5 percent compared to the realization in the same period last year of 1,335 units.
Shelvy confirmed that the infrastructure and facilities for the Merak-Bakauheni crossing are confirmed to be ready> this is based on the results of a ramp check conducted by BPTD on 22 October 2022 for ships, and 2-4 November 2022 for docks.
There are 62 ships and 7 piers that are ready to operate for the Christmas and New Year Holidays. The peak of the 2022 Christmas holiday flow is expected to occur on Friday (23/12/2022) or H-2 and Saturday (24/12/2022) or H-1.
For this reason, he appealed to all service users in Sumatra, Java, and Bali, to prepare themselves and buy tickets a maximum of H-1 before arriving at the port to minimize queues during peak flows going to or going home.
