Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Ministry of Transportation is stepping up measures to ease traffic congestion on the route to Gilimanuk Port in Bali as the Eid al-Fitr homecoming exodus gathers pace.Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi said the efforts involve close on-site coordination between the Bali Land Transportation Management Agency (BPTD) and multiple stakeholders, including the police, ferry operators, port authorities, security forces and local administrations.Long queues of vehicles have formed on roads leading to Gilimanuk Port since Sunday (March 15), reportedly stretching for tens of kilometers as travelers leave Bali for their hometowns ahead of the Islamic holiday.“We are continuing our efforts to ensure that all transportation services run safely, smoothly and under control,” Purwagandhi said on Monday.Vehicle queues heading to Gilimanuk Port remained heavy on Monday, dominated by motorcycles and private cars attempting to cross the Bali Strait to Java.Authorities said a range of traffic management measures were being implemented to ease the buildup.To accelerate vehicle movement and improve ferry traffic, the number of vessels in operation has been increased to 35, comprising the existing 28 ferries and seven additional vessels, each scheduled to make up to eight trips.Of the total fleet, 19 vessels operate at the moveable bridge (MB) pier, while 11 serve the landing craft machine (LCM) pier, with four additional ships deployed to further increase crossing capacity.The ministry has also implemented the Arrival–Unloading–Departure (TBB) system to shorten vessel turnaround times, alongside faster loading and unloading procedures aimed at speeding up the movement of smaller vehicles.“Vehicle traffic management has also been strengthened through the operation of a buffer zone at the Gilimanuk Port cargo terminal and the optimization of the Cekik Port Control Unit (UPPKB Cekik) as a checkpoint before vehicles enter the port area,” Purwagandhi added.Meanwhile, weather monitoring by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) at 11:55 a.m. showed conditions in the Bali Strait remained favorable for ferry operations.Authorities reported cloudy skies with waves of about 1 meter, visibility of up to 10 kilometers, and northbound sea currents moving at around 2.5 knots.