‘Mudik’ Surge Still Anticipated

Name: ‘Mudik’ Surge Still Anticipated
Uploaded: 2018-06-12T04:36:21Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: The government has announced that \'mudik\' (mass exodus) has peaked, especially on land. However, it remains watchful over the possibility of an increased flow of travelers three days before Lebaran.

The government has announced that \'mudik\' (mass exodus) has peaked, especially on land. However, it remains watchful over the possibility of an increased flow of travelers three days before Lebaran.

· 4 minutes read

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Different from previous years, when mudik (mass exodus) usually peaked three or two days before Lebaran, this year’s mudik has peaked earlier. However, the number of travelers is not much different from other years.

The Transportation Ministry projected that mudik would peak on Saturday and Sunday, on the sixth and fifth days before Lebaran. The change has been attributed to the longer holiday and collective leave, timely payment of the holiday bonus (THR) and the relatively better conditions of supporting infrastructure, especially toll roads. Nevertheless, the ministry still anticipated another surge in travelers on the third and second day before Lebaran, on Tuesday and Wednesday (13/6/2018).

"The peak of mudik on land and sea is different. Mudik on land, especially on toll roads and non-toll roads, peaked on the sixth and fifth days [before Lebaran]," Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Monday at Merak Port, Banten.

The flow of mudik travelers from the eighth to fourth days before Lebaran was relatively smooth, with no severe congestion on toll roads or other roads. Some traffic congestion was seen at a number of tollgates, toll road exits and rest areas.

Traffic congested on the road leading to the Kenteng River bridge on the Salatiga-Kartasura toll road in Central Java, which was still under construction. The congestion was caused mainly by the steep road that climbed for more than 500 meters.

Another congestion of about 2.5 kilometers happened at the toll road exit to Merak Port.

6.7 million travelers

Data from the ministry’s Research and Development Institute showed that about 6.7 million travelers had departed from Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi) from the eighth to fourth days before Lebaran. The figure comprised 5 million passengers on public transportation and 1.7 million others who took advantage of group mudik transportation services.

Gunawan, 42, who was traveling from South Tangerang to Yogyakarta, said that the temporary operations of unfinished toll road sections generally helped avoid congestion on Java’s northern coastal road network. "There were several congestion points, but it was no problem," he said when Kompas spoke to him at the kilometer-marker (KM) 287 rest area in Tegal, Central Java.

Gunawan had already been traveling about six hours from South Tangerang. Two years ago, same route to Tegal had taken him 12 hours.

Kenteng Bridge

In Salatiga, the open-close system applied to the Kenteng Bridge in Susukan had a positive impact on traffic. Moreover, the vehicles were screened to allow only those in good condition to pass, so as to prevent accidents the steep road.

Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Condro Kirono said that in addition to the screening, the open-close system was being applied when long queues formed at the Salatiga tollgate. The toll road will be closed in the event of congestion, and would be reopened once traffic was flowing again.

State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga Solo-Ngawi (JSN) screened the vehicles that would be allowed to cross the bridge. The screening reportedly proved effective, especially in ensuring that the vehicles were capable of passing the steep road leading to Kenteng Bridge.

Meanwhile, the number of vehicles on the Cikopo-Palimanan toll road began to decrease on Monday. However, police and toll road operators expected to continue to implement anticipatory measures up to the second day before Lebaran.

Data from PT Lintas Marga Sedaya (LMS), which manages the Cipali toll road, showed that 31,888 vehicles traveled the road from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday, of which 24,490 were headed to Central Java. This was a 5.46 percent decrease in vehicular volume from the same period the previous day, when 33,728 vehicles traveled the toll road.

"Despite the fall in the number of vehicles, it is still possible that mudik traffic will peak on the third and second days before Lebaran," said PT LMS operations general manager Suyitno. According to him, based on earlier calculations, mudik would peak on two days before Lebaran on June 13 with an estimated 95,985 vehicles.

Sea crossings

In Cilegon, Banten, mudik travelers continued to cross from Java to Sumatra at Merak Port up to the fourth day before Lebaran. " Mudik travel has not peaked yet at Merak Port, because only about 30 percent of the total estimated number of travelers have crossed the strait," National Police chief Gen. (Pol) Tito Karnavian said at Merak Port, where he was monitoring the flow of mudik traffic.

In Solo, Central Java Migrant Workers Association head Leles Sudarmanto, who had traveled from Greater Jakarta, said that a largely number of people were utilizing the free mudik program, especially informal workers.

(DIT/WHO/ETA/RWN/VIO/GER/SYA/E08/E06)

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mudik mass exodus surge