Number of Vehicles Drops amid Tight Traffic Control

Name: Number of Vehicles Drops amid Tight Traffic Control
Uploaded: 2021-05-08T06:36:08Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: The flow of vehicles from Jakarta is the focus of the police’s control because the number of vehicles leaving the capital to other areas is usually very high ahead of Idul Fitri.

The flow of vehicles from Jakarta is the focus of the police’s control because the number of vehicles leaving the capital to other areas is usually very high ahead of Idul Fitri.

Kompas Team

· 6 minutes read

Tight traffic control has successfully reduced the number of vehicles on toll roads and non-toll roads. However, many travelers are still able to use alternative roads to evade the police’s checkpoints.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Kompas\' observations in a number of locations showed a significant decrease in the number of vehicles during the first two days of the traditional mudik (exodus) ban ahead of Idul Fitri. Thousands of vehicles were also asked to turn back for violating the travel ban.

In addition to the travel ban, the number of the vehicles sharply dropped because many people were believed to have returned to their hometowns before the ban was officially enforced. A number of travelers also managed to evade the police’s checkpoints.

Also read: Village Task Forces Optimized as Residents Begin Mudik

According to police data, as of Friday (7/5/2021), as many as 12,267 passenger cars, 7,352 motorbikes, 2,148 taxis and 1,768 cargo vehicles were asked to return to Jakarta and its surroundings for defying the ban. All of the vehicles were used to transport passengers to their hometowns.

The flow of vehicles from Jakarta is the focus of the police’s control because the number of vehicles leaving the capital to other areas is usually very high ahead of Idul Fitri. "The blocking of the vehicles which began yesterday (Thursday) has significantly reduced the number of vehicles from Jakarta to West Java, Central Java and East Java," the head of the Police Public Relations, Inspector General Raden Prabowo Argo Yuwono, said in Jakarta Friday.

In addition to asking the vehicles to turn back, officers in the field also carried out antigen tests on 1,645 drivers to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The Transportation Ministry also confirmed the decrease in the number of the vehicles. The ministry’s spokesperson, Adita Irawati said in a written statement that the number of land, sea, air, and train transportation passengers, on the first day of the mudik ban on Thursday had dropped significantly compared to the number recorded before the ban took effect.

In land transportation, for example, the number of bus passengers totaled only 10,644 persons, a decrease of about 75 percent compared to normal days.

Meanwhile, on the same day, the traffic volume which includes motorbikes, passenger cars, and large cars using non-toll national roads leaving Jakarta, Bogoro, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) reached a total of 68,000 vehicles, a decline of about 48 percent compared to normal days.

The number of train passengers also totaled only 17,220 people, down 71 percent from the number of passengers the day before.

Also read: Illegal Travel Services Play Cat and Mouse to Defy ‘ Mudik’ Ban

The drop in the number of passengers was also seen in the sea transportation. The number of passengers using 51 main inter-island ports in the country totaled only 2,048 people, a decrease of 88 percent compared to normal days.

Many people had already returned to their home towns before the ban took effect, but in general the people’s compliance in the travel restrictions has showed an improvement

"There was a significant decrease in the number of passengers in all modes of transportation. Many people had already returned to their home towns before the ban took effect, but in general the people’s compliance in the travel restrictions has showed an improvement," said Adita.

Early homecoming

A number of regions also reported many people had returned to their hometowns before the mudik ban was enforced. As many as 3,000 people had entered Banyumas regency, Central Java, before the ban took effect on May 6, 2021.

"About 3,000 people have entered (the regency) and have conducted antigen tests. The results were all negative. In each RT (neighborhood unit), people are not allowed to enter a house until they take an antigen test," said Banyumas regent Achmad Husein.

In order to prevent the possibility of a flow of a large number of travelers to a number of areas, the traffic controls should be increased, because many travelers are still able to evade the police’s checkpoints.

One of the travelers who managed to reach their hometown undetected is Syafira (35), a resident of Baros subdistrict, Sukabumi city, West Java. He arrived at his hometown, Mejasem Barat village, Kramat district, Tegal regency, Central Java, on Friday or on the second day of the mudik ban.

Aslo read: Pandemic Emergency Awareness

Syafira said that he went home using the car he rented from a friend. Syafira started his journey from Sukabumi city at one clock in early morning on Friday. After traveling for about eight hours, Syafira arrived in Tegal.

"I chose to leave the house in the early hours to evade officers. I thought, at night, the supervision was not as strict as during the day," said Syafira.

Instead of playing a cat and mouse to evade the police’s guard, Syafira brought the required documents needed for emergency travelers such as a travel permit from RT officials and negative antigen test results.

"During the trip, I was a bit nervous, but fortunately I did not see any officers. I was traveling on toll road and didn\'t stop at a resting area. Friends said, inspections were carried out in resting areas, " he added.

Not only Syafira, based on monitoring of travelers in Tegal regency, at least 5,969 travelers from a number of regions had arrived in the area in the past week. Most of the travelers arrived in Tegal on May 5 and May 6.

Apart from Tegal, the travelers also arrived in Brebes despite the travel ban. Fauzah (29), for example, arrived in Wanasari district, Brebes, Central Java, on Thursday. She went home with her children and husband by a motorbike from Bantul, Yogyakarta.

"When we arrived in Margasari, Tegal Regency, there was a traffic inspection, but we escaped it because our vehicle had a local police number," she said.

Unlike Syafira, Fauzah went home without carrying the documents required to travel during the restriction period.

Difficult task

A transportation observer from the Soegijapranata Catholic University, Djoko Setijowarno, acknowleged that the traffic control carried out by the police would be unable to fully prevent the naughty travelers.

"Despite the many shortcomings, the officers\' hard work in preventing travelers should be appreciated. It is a tough task,”he said.

Currently, the most possible ways in reducing the number of travelers are to increase the number of the police’s checkpoints and consistently check every passing vehicle.

"When people are desperate to go home, they can do anything to reach their hometowns. A truck should be checked, because some people can hide in the pile of goods,”said Djoko. The traffic control must be carried out 24 hours, he said. (XTI/NAD/ERK/AIN/IKI/DKA)

(This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi).

Editor:

naranasrullah

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