After almost two quiet weeks, the city's main roads are already back to normal, with motorists trapped in congestion under Friday's scorching heat.
Hani Surachman, an employee who works in Senayan, South Jakarta, faced the bitter reality.
Traffic the last two days was worse than last week, she said.
"Last week, the traffic in front of my office (Jl. Asia-Afrika) was smooth. Now, at about 5 p.m., traffic is bumper-to-bumper. It's so distressing," Hani said, who travels to her office every morning by car with her husband.
"Although the distance from my home in Kebayoran (also in South Jakarta) to my office is only about seven kilometers, it took me more than 15 minutes to get to my office on Friday morning. Last week, it only took five.
"The evening rush-hour traffic is even worst. It took me 45 minutes, while last week it only took about 15," she said.
She takes narrow, back roads to avoid the traffic, she added.
"If I use the main roads, such as Jl. Sudirman, it might take more than one hour to get home."
Many motorists faced similar problems at main thoroughfares such as Jl. Imam Bonjol, Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin on Friday afternoon.
Motorists who use slow lanes suffer from even more bottlenecks because many public transportation vehicles pick up and drop off passengers in the middle of the road.
The condition was far worse compared to a couple days after Idul Fitri. No traffic jams were seen during rush hour, as many Jakartans were still out of town.
Jakarta, as the center of Indonesia's economic activities, is now home to 9.1 million people, according to the latest statistics. It has been estimated that Jakarta receives about 3 million commuters from Greater Jakarta during office hours on working days.
According to the Jakarta Population and Civil Registration Agency's monitoring division, 2 million people left the city the night of Sept. 27.
The capital was quiet a couple days before and after the Idul Fitri celebration when millions of migrants left Jakarta to spend the holiday in their hometowns.
Quieter does not mean the city did not see crimes.
Jakarta Police reported 313 crimes in this holiday season of 14 days, from Sept. 23 to Oct. 6.
"Most of the crimes involved thievery," Didik Andiono, the head of Jakarta Police's operation control who was in charge of the special Idul Fitri security operation -- dubbed as Ketupat Operation.
There were 80 motorbikes and 23 cars thefts, as well as 27 cases of burglary with violence.
"They ranged from breaking into an empty house to mugging," he said.
The number of crimes may increase as some returnees may find their homes have been broken into when they return later this week, Didik said.
Fires also painted a bleak picture as 39 were reported during the past 20 days.
Fourteen drug-related cases were also recorded while 16 people were severely injured or died in traffic accidents in Jakarta during the same period.
The annual Ketupat Operation in Jakarta involved 1,167 police officers and ended on Oct. 9. (mri)
