Travelers — most of them on motorcycles — returned to Jakarta en masse on Tuesday after celebrating Idul Fitri in their hometowns throughout Java.
Thousands of motorcycles thronged the northern coastal route from Arjawinangun, Cirebon regency, to Kertasemaya, Indramayu.
A local vehicle post said that 250 vehicles a minute had passed on Tuesday, all with an average speed of less than 20 kilometers per hour.
Transportation agency official H. Kusin said that the number of vehicles on the road had increased since Idul Fitri ended four days ago.
“Towards midnight, four-wheeled vehicles increased in number while motorcycles still dominated the road,” Kusin said as quoted by Antara news agency.
“We give motorcycles priority to pass to avoid further traffic jams,” said one police officer directing traffic in Arjawinangun.
The Cirebon Transportation Agency said that 2,300 motorcycles and 3,400 four-wheeled vehicles had passed through the regency heading west since early Tuesday morning.
Some travelers said they chose to return from their Idul Fitri holiday on Tuesday because they had to start work on Wednesday.
“I deliberately chose to return today because I want to experience the peak of holiday return season,” said Tegal resident Yusuf, as quoted by Antara.
Banks opened Tuesday as the official holidays ended. As previously announced, the Indonesia Stock Exchange opens today, drawing criticism from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
“The state should not stop its services,” he said, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com news portal.
Yudhoyono asked for reports on the reverse holiday exodus on Tuesday at the first Cabinet meeting held after Idul Fitri.
“Almost 11 million of our brothers and sisters are traveling from one place to another. With such a huge number and with limited infrastructure, there will certainly be problems,” Yudhoyono said.
The President asked ministers to correct any weaknesses in service “immediately” and not to postpone improvements until next year.
“If we discover something that needs correction, we don’t need to wait until next year’s Lebaran,” Yudhoyono said.
He also asked for reports on government employees who were truant after Lebaran and warned of disruptions to public services.
Although civil servants, banks and private sector companies were expected to resume business as usual on Tuesday, Senen and Gambir train stations had not seen a significant influx of people coming into Jakarta .
“As of this afternoon, we haven’t recorded an influx of people into the city. We expect more arrivals tonight or tomorrow,” state railway company PT Kereta Api Jakarta operations chief Mateta Rijahulhaq said on Tuesday.
Mateta said that more arrivals were expected on Friday as most schools would end holiday vacations next week. Fifty passengers were denied seats Tuesday on the Senja Bengawan train traveling from Surakarta, Central Java to Jakarta.
“The number of passengers on board reached 150 percent of available capacity. We cannot force another 50 people into the train,” Solo Jebres railway station chief Sunaryo said.
He added that passengers who could not board the train would receive refunds.
