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Jokowi calls on Idul Fitri travelers to avoid return-flow gridlocks
More than 200,000 cars carrying returning travelers are expected to enter the capital each day starting Monday.
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Motorists commute in a traffic jam in Bogor on April 25, 2023, as people return to the cities after celebrating the Idul Fitri holiday in their hometowns. (AFP/Aditya Aji)
P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has called on Idul Ftiri holidaymakers to extend their holiday until after Wednesday to help ease traffic congestion during the peak of the return flow period, which is expected to take place on either Monday or Tuesday.
The Transportation Ministry has said the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) return traffic will likely peak on either day, with more than 200,000 cars carrying returning travelers expected to enter the capital each day starting Monday.
“The mudik flow during Idul Fitri [on Saturday] has gone back to around normal traffic levels,” Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said in a press release on Sunday. “We expect to see an increase in return traffic starting on Monday.”
State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga reported that up until Saturday traffic leaving Greater Jakarta still outnumbers traffic coming into the region. Two hundred thousand vehicles left Greater Jakarta on Saturday, around double the number of vehicles coming in at 111,558.
In a video statement published on Monday, President Jokowi urged citizens to avoid making their trip during the peak return flow period if possible. “Data from the Transportation Ministry showed that around 203,000 vehicles will be coming in daily [to Greater Jakarta] from the east along the Trans Java toll road and from the direction of Bandung.”
Officially, the Idul Fitri holiday period is set to end on Tuesday with most businesses resuming operations on Wednesday. But given the expected traffic levels, the president has asked non-essential employees, both in the public and private sectors, to extend their holiday until after Wednesday if possible.
As an incentive, PT Jasa Marga has announced a 20 percent discount on toll fees along the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, which connects Jakarta to its neighboring regions to the east, from Thursday to Saturday.
