Public Asked to Go on Mudik Early to Prevent Congestion

The government appealed to the public to take leave and make earlier homebound journeys and organize their homecoming plans properly to avoid severe traffic jams.

FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Passengers exchange their tickets before entering the ferry at the Executive Pier of Merak Harbor, Cilegon City, Banten, Friday (7/4/2023). Approaching the peak of the 2023 Lebaran homecoming flow, a number of arterial and toll road sections from the direction of Jakarta to Merak, Banten have begun to be repaired.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The government has encouraged people to take leave and make earlier homebound journeys during mudik (exodus) to prevent a severe congestion ahead of Idul Fitri celebrations. The peak of the annual homecoming trips are expected to occur on 19, 20 and 21 April, 2023.

During a discussion held by Kompas in Jakarta on Thursday (6/4), Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi appealed to the public to organize their homecoming plans properly to avoid severe traffic jams.

He also encouraged public transportation operators to provide discounted tickets so that people would be more interested in going home early.

Also read:

> Earlier Holiday Imposed to Anticipate Surge in ‘Mudik’ Travelers

> Anticipating Surge of Traffic During ‘Mudik’

“If you can arrange the homebound trip before 19 April, God willing, the vehicle will be able to move [not stuck]. If you go on mudik on 19 April, the vehicle speed will be only about 40 kilometers per hour. The Jakarta-Semarang trip, for example, can take between eight to 10 hours instead of the usual five hours," he said.

Speakers at the discussion also included Land Transportation director general Hendro Sugiatno, head of the Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) Insp. Gen. Firman Santyabudi, president director of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Ira Puspadewi, director of operations of PT Jasa Marga Fitri Wiyanti, chairman of the Jakarta Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) Adrianto Djokosoetono, head of Advocacy and Community Affairs for the Indonesian Transportation Society, and chairman of the Association of Noodle and Meatball Traders of Bekasi Maryanto.

In the 2023 Idul Fitri Trip Survey, the number of people who will travel to their hometowns for Idul Fitri is estimated to reach 23.8 million. The number increased by 45.67 percent from 85.5 million last year.

FAKHRI FADLURROHMAN

Workers complete the construction of a new parking lot at the Merak Port Executive Pier, Cilegon City, Banten, Friday (7/4/2023).

Some travelers choose to travel by land. A total of 27.32 million people plan to use private cars. Others will travel by motorbike (25.13 million), by bus (22.27 million), by rental car (9.53 million) or by train (14.47 million). The main destinations for the travelers are Central Java, namely 32.75 million, followed by East Java (24.6 million) and West Java (20.72 million).

Firman Santyabudi encouraged ministries and private institutions, including political parties, to provide free transportation for the mudik travelers in order to encourage the people not to travel by motorbike. The police will set up 2,694 security posts spread throughout the homecoming route.

To carry out the government's appeal, a number of transportation operators have provided discounted tickets for Idul Fitri trips. PT Jasa Marga, for example, will offer a 20 percent discount on toll tariffs on the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road on Sunday (16/4) from 6 a.m. to Tuesday (18/4) at 6 a.m. Not only for homecoming trips, PT Jasa Marga will also offer a discount on the same road section for return trips, namely on Thursday (27/4) from 6 a.m. to Saturday (29/4) at 6 a.m.

Also read:

> Idul Fitri Leave to Start Earlier to Avoid Traffic

"With the 20 percent discount, the fare for the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road, namely for Class I vehicles, will be reduced from Rp 20,000 to Rp 16,000, for Class II and III from Rp 30,000 to Rp. 24,000, and for Class IV and V to be cut from Rp 40,000 to Rp 32,000,” the president director of PT Jasa Marga Subakti Syukur said as quoted in the press release.

Budi Karya Sumadi hoped that PT Jasa Marga's initiative would be emulated by other operators engaged in land, sea or air transportation. "Besides PT Jasa Marga, which has already given a 20 percent discount, other operators are expected to do the same thing," said Budi.

Responding to the government's appeal, a number of airline operators have also decided to provide discounts for mudik trips. Through social media accounts, a number of companies have announced their promotion tickets. Garuda Indonesia, for example, offers special promotion tickets for Idul Fitri travelers, starting from Rp 700,000 for a one-way flight.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

Line of prospective airplane passengers at Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Banten, Sunday (8/5/2022). The flow of aircraft passengers through this airport looks high in line with the return flow of the Eid al-Fitr 2022 holiday.

Lion Air also offers discounted prices from Soekarno-Hatta Airport directly (no transit routes apply) to three main destinations, namely Yogyakarta for Rp 360,000, Semarang for Rp. 338,000, and Surabaya for Rp 595,000 for flights between 13 April to 17 April, 2023. Meanwhile, Citilink Indonesia offers discounted tickets from Rp 300,000 to several destinations.

Chairman of the Association of Noodle and Meatball Traders of Bekasi, Maryanto, hoped that the Idul Fitri discounts would be realized. According to Maryanto, at least 1,000 noodle and meatball sellers in Bekasi will go on mudik this year. "We hope bus companies will also provide a discount so that our members will not travel by motorbike," said Maryanto.

Meanwhile, a number of state-owned enterprises operating in the transportation sector are inviting the public to take advantage of the joint homecoming program. Free transportation for motorbikes will also be increased in order to reduce road accidents. The offers, among others, come from state-owned shipping company PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Pelni).

We hope bus companies will also provide a discount so that our members will not travel by motorbike.

President director of PT Pelni Tri Andayani said the special transportation service for Idul Fitri would start from Friday (7/4) until Monday (8/5). "The peak of the homecoming trip is expected to occur on 17 April, while the return flow will peak on 29 April," he said.

He explained that 68 ships would be deployed to serve homebound travelers. The fleet consists of 26 passenger ships and 42 pioneer ships, which can accommodate 48,538 passengers at a time. Commercial passenger ships will serve 1,058 trips and stop at 71 ports, while pioneer ships will serve 3,945 trips to 273 ports.

The joint homecoming program is also carried out by state owned train operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI). The commercial director of the company, Hadis Surya Palapa, said the train operator would give free freight service for motorbikes for 20 days, namely from 11 April to 20 April for homebound trips and from 25 April to 3 May for return trips. (Z05/Z06)

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi