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One-way, contraflow policies fail to ease Idul Fitri congestion
One-way and contraflow policies proved ineffective in easing pre and post-Idul Fitri traffic congestion on the Trans-Java toll road.
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Motorists line up at the Cikampek Utama toll gate in West Java on Friday, June 7. Toll road operator Jasa Marga and traffic police enforced one-way and contraflow policies to handle the high volume of cars on the road. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
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re and post-Idul Fitri traffic to and from Jakarta has again been marked by severe congestion, despite major toll-road developments and the implementation of a one-way traffic policy, which had previously helped ease traffic congestion.
Sunday saw the peak of post-Idul Fitri traffic, with a record 166,574 vehicles making westbound trips on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, higher than 130,125 vehicles recorded over the same period last year, according to toll road operator Jasa Marga.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said the surge was expected given the return period for holidaymakers lasted just three days from Friday to Sunday, compared to the seven-day mudik (exodus) period from May 29 to June 4.
The surge led to severe congestion on toll-roads, with travelers bound for Jakarta complaining about being stuck on the road for many hours longer than their mudik trips.
“We encouraged holidaymakers not to travel on June 9, because we expected there would be a lot of problems [if everyone traveled] on that day. However, it comes down to the travelers’ choices in the end. Next time we will strengthen law enforcement,” Budi said on Monday.
To ease congestion, authorities enforced ad hoc one-way and contraflow traffic policies depending on the situation.
However, the policies led to eastbound travelers using the packed north Java coast (Pantura) highways. A number of buses ran behind schedule due to the traffic congestion on non-toll roads.
