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Holiday exodus begins early
The Transportation Ministry’s research body estimates that 14.9 million residents of Greater Jakarta, 44.1 percent of the total population of the area, will leave the capital for their hometowns, with Central Java as the most popular destination with 37.68 percent of travelers, followed by West Java (24.89 percent) and East Java (11.14 percent).
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An officer at the Transportation Ministry looks at CCTV footage from different parts of the country at the Transportation Ministry’s command center for the Idul Fitri exodus season, in Central Jakarta, on Tuesday. The exodus season is expected to begin on Thursday, a week before the Idul Fitri holiday on June 5 and 6. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
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olidaymakers are expected to start leaving the capital city on Thursday, a week before the largest Muslim holiday of Idul Fitri on June 5 and 6, with millions expected to take the newly inaugurated trans-Java toll road to reach home, according to official forecasts.
The Transportation Ministry’s research body estimates that 14.9 million residents of Greater Jakarta, 44.1 percent of the total population of the area, will leave the capital for their hometowns, with Central Java as the most popular destination with 37.68 percent of travelers, followed by West Java (24.89 percent) and East Java (11.14 percent).
The ministry expects an increase in the number of motorists amid stubbornly high airfares that have coincided with the opening of the trans-Java toll road. The data suggests that 4.45 million travelers, around 30 percent, will travel by public bus, while another 28.9 percent will use private cars. The remaining holidaymakers are expected to travel by train (16.7 percent), by air (9.5 percent) and by motorcycle (6.3 percent).
Jakarta resident Anggara Bayu Pratama and his wife Nova are among those who plan to drive via the trans-Java toll road to Yogyakarta. He has even offered vacant seats for other holidaymakers who wish to travel to the same destination.
“This is the most reasonable option [because] plane tickets are very expensive. I’m offering our vacant seats to those who are willing to share the cost of tolls and the gas,” he told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The 933-kilometer trans-Java toll road stretches from Merak in Banten to Pasuruan in East Java. Discounted tolls that the government has applied since its opening on Dec. 20 last year will still be in place until the Idul Fitri holiday season.
Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono recently pointed out that the toll for the Jakarta-Cikampek road worked out at only Rp 200 (1.4 US cents) per km, because it is a very old stretch. The toll for the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) section is set at Rp 700 per km, and the newer roads have tolls between Rp 1,100 and 1,500 per km.
