The police’s explanation that Idul Fitri traffic management was overseen by various government agencies, at both central and local levels, helps to shed light on why last week was so chaotic on the roads.

Many homebound travelers complained that they found little government presence along the 116-kilometer Cipali toll road, which connects West and Central Java.

When asked by The Jakarta Post on Sunday, National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto said the National Police, Transportation Ministry and other related institutions were all responsible for the smoothness of the annual mudik (exodus).

The one-star general said the police had done their best to manage traffic, adding that people should understand the situation as it occurred every year.

“You ask people not to go out; then traffic problems would not happen,” Agus said, citing his formula to overcome people’s transportation misery.

According to data from the National Police headquarters from Jun. 30 to July 9, the number of traffic accidents during Idul Fitri reduced by 16.69 percent to 1,856 this year from 2,228 incidents in 2015.

Among the accidents, the death toll decreased by 24.78 percent to 349 people from 464 people in the previous year. The number of people who suffered severe injuries also declined to 595 from 817 in the same period last year. Likewise, the number of people who suffered minor injuries also dropped, to 2,437 people from 2,917 in the previous year.

Meanwhile, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that once the toll road construction was completed, chaotic traffic would be a matter of the past. “Once the toll road is integrated [with other toll roads], the problem will be solved,” said the President.

During the annual mass exodus, the government was unable to prevent gridlock at the East Brebes toll gate exit in Central Java, nicknamed “Brexit”, a term borrowed from the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

On the Pejagan-Brebes toll road, many cars ran out of gasoline after being trapped in stop-start conditions over more than 20 kilometers for approximately 12 hours. Worse still, 17 people died, according to the Brebes Health Agency and Brebes Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPD) from June 29 to July 5.

“The government created a false sense of security by claiming that the toll road in Brebes, Central Java, was ready to welcome millions of homebound travelers during the exodus,” Nizar Zahro, a member of House of Representatives Commission V overseeing infrastructure and transportation, told the Post on Saturday.

Two weeks prior to the nationwide exodus, Zahro said, the commission held a meeting with several government bodies, including the Transportation Ministry and the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry. Officials boasted that conditions would be manageable, said Zahro.

Travelers’ frustration continued on their return home as they were forced to face heavy traffic all over again. As of Sunday, significant traffic jams were observed on the Cikampek toll road to Jakarta, as well as in Ajibarang, Banyumas,
Central Java.

Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) chairman Tulus Abadi slammed the government’s poor anticipation of traffic problems before the holiday began.

“Mudik is an extraordinary situation, but the government managed it with ordinary actions,” he said on Sunday. (win/fac)

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