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Consumers urged to demand compensation for holiday congestion
Thousands of vehicles are trapped in heavy traffic as they crawl along the inner city toll road toward the Cikampek toll road on Thursday
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Thousands of vehicles are trapped in heavy traffic as they crawl along the inner city toll road toward the Cikampek toll road on Thursday. The congestion was caused by vehicles inundating the rest area at KM 19 of the Cikampek toll road, leading to backed-up traffic. (Antara/M. Agung Rajasa) (Antara/M. Agung Rajasa)
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span class="caption">Thousands of vehicles are trapped in heavy traffic as they crawl along the inner city toll road toward the Cikampek toll road on Thursday. The congestion was caused by vehicles inundating the rest area at KM 19 of the Cikampek toll road, leading to backed-up traffic. (Antara/M. Agung Rajasa)
A consumer group has slammed the government for failing to anticipate heavy traffic during the long weekend and urged consumers to demand compensation.
Tulus Abadi, director of Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), said on Friday that the congestion had caused toll road users both material and non-material losses.
"The government was late in anticipating the peak of the Christmas holiday exodus, which was at the same time as school holidays and the celebration of Prophet Muhammad's birthday [Maulid]," he said as quoted by news agency Antara.
The damages consumers had suffered on toll roads clashed with the roads' main purpose, he added. "Consumers who pay toll road fees should get the benefit of smooth traffic instead of traffic jams.'
Tulus said the government had failed to provide sufficient resources in terms of police officers, toll road officials and other supporting officials. The police and toll operators had also failed to manage truck traffic, thereby worsening traffic conditions.
Truck drivers should have been told to stay on the left lane and fined if they did not obey the rule, he said.
Other damages included wasted gasoline due to congestion and expenses incurred by motorists to eat or drink while the roads were clogged with vehicles.
"There are also non-material losses, such as lost holiday time," he said.
Vehicles moving out of Jakarta inundated toll roads on the holiday weekend starting on Thursday.
Tempo.co reported on Friday that it took approximately 16 hours to drive from Jakarta to Bandung, West Java, which compares to a regular three-hour drive. Bandung is a popular nearby holiday destination for Jakartans, along with Bogor and Puncak. (rin)
