Passengers disembark at Sibu Express Boat Terminal.

SIBU: Sarawak Rivers Board (SRB) has approved three additional boat trips to cater for the expected high volume of passengers returning upriver ahead of the new school term.

According to SRB assistant controller (Region II) Hatta Morshidi, two trips would be for the Sibu/Song sector, and one for the Sibu/Kapit sector.

“The big crowds (at Sibu Express Boat Terminal) are due to people going back to their respective towns to get ready for the new school term. We have approved two trips to Sibu/Song sector (to cater for the surge in demand),” he told The Borneo Post when contacted yesterday.

Hatta said on Saturday, the Sibu Express Boat Terminal handled 3,778 passengers, of whom 231 were speedboat passengers.

“A total of 3,547 express boat passengers passed through the terminal yesterday (Saturday) – 1,680 were arrivals and 1,867, departures.”

There were 33 express boat trips recorded at the terminal on Dec 29 – 15 trips were arrivals and 18 were departures.

A passenger fills her form at the SRB registration counter before boarding the express boat.

He also said on Saturday, the RC Pontoon Wharf at Khoo Peng Loong Road here handled 513 passengers, comprising 212 arrivals and 301 departures.

The RC Pontoon Wharf caters to those heading downriver destinations such as Daro, Mupong, Passin and Pulau Bruit.

An observation at Sibu Express Board Terminal yesterday saw the ‘No Ticket, No Entry’ policy was being strictly enforced to keep out those without tickets.

Passengers are required to provide their particulars at the registration counter, apart from showing their tickets before entering the departure zone.

This is among the safety measures put in place by the governing authority, in addition to pre-departure inspections on life jackets, which are placed on the overhead shelf or beneath passengers’ seats.