Passenger and vehicle traffic on ferry routes linking Sumatra and Java rose sharply during the post-Eid return period, prompting state ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) to step up operations to maintain smooth and safe crossings.
A total of 91,657 passengers and 25,332 vehicles crossed from Sumatra to Java on March 23 (D+1 of Eid), according to ASDP data, marking increases of 58.6% and 70.4% respectively from a year earlier.
ASDP President Director Heru Widodo said the upward trend is expected to continue over the coming days, with return traffic projected to peak in stages on March 24, and again on March 28–29.
“As of D+2, return movements have reached 142,288 passengers and 37,634 vehicles, or around 15% of total projected homecoming traffic,” Heru said. “We urge the public to plan travel times carefully and avoid peak periods to reduce congestion at ports.”
Data as of 2:00 p.m. local time on March 24 showed 50,631 passengers and 12,654 vehicles had already made the crossing, up 53.5% and 48.1% respectively compared with the same period last year.
To accommodate the surge, ASDP is deploying between 28 and 33 vessels daily, depending on traffic conditions, said Partogi Tamba, General Manager of ASDP’s Bakauheni branch. The company is also implementing an Arrival, Unloading and Departure (TBB) system to speed up vessel turnaround times.
Traffic flow is being managed using buffer zones at key points on both sides of the crossing, including KM49B, KM20B, Gayam Terminal and RM Gunung Jati in Bakauheni, and KM63, KM48 and the JLS Buffer Zone in Merak. These areas are used to regulate vehicle flow and verify ticket compliance.
Passengers arriving without valid tickets or outside their scheduled departure times are flagged for further processing, while those with valid bookings proceed as scheduled, Partogi said.
ASDP has also introduced a single-fare system and is dynamically allocating passengers across available docks. Additional berths are being prepared as contingency measures in case of further increases in traffic.
The company reiterated that tickets must be purchased in advance through its Ferizy platform, as no ticket sales are available at ports.
Cumulative data for the period from D-10 to D+1 shows 572,270 passengers and 127,363 vehicles traveled from Sumatra to Java, up 11.8% and 19.7% respectively year-on-year. Traffic in the opposite direction, from Java to Sumatra, reached 995,119 passengers and 262,986 vehicles, increases of 1.5% and 5.9%.
ASDP said it is coordinating with relevant authorities to ensure reliable operations during the peak return period.