Indonesia Gov't Prepares Steps to Manage Annual Homecoming Exodus

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The government has prepared strategic steps to face the 2023 Idul Fitri homecoming period that may start one week before the Islamic festivities on April 21 and cease the week after.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Sunday, March 19 that community movement during the period could reach 123.8 million people, a 44.8 percent increase from 85.5 million people projected in 2022.

This figure is based on the results of a survey conducted by the Ministry of Transportation through the Transportation Policy Agency (BKT).

Based on the results of the survey, Java Island is forecast to dominate in terms of people's movements, constituting 62.5 percent, or 77.3 million people.

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The revocation of Community Activity Restriction (PPKM) and the controlled number of Covid-19 cases in the country are included in the factors causing the high potential of community movement.

To this end, the government has prepared steps to anticipate overflow and traffic jams, such as by preparing transportation facilities and infrastructure, safety aspects, and traffic engineering management.

Several steps to handle this year’s Idul Fitri homecoming include preparing a survey of the potential movement of people's mobility during the homecoming and conducting safety inspections in the form of ramp checks on land, sea, air, and rail transportation facilities.

Land Transportation

The Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Transportation Ministry along with the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing and the National Police Traffic Corps had conducted inspections regarding the condition of the Java south coast (Pansela) and north coast (Pantura) routes.

From a review of the Pansela route, the Directorate General of Land Transportation drew attention to several factors behind the route not being attractive to travelers, such as the lack of street lighting, the dearth of signs that could endanger motorists, and the lack of rest areas and gas stations.

The related authorities will accelerate the construction of road safety facilities for road lighting and signs on the Pansela route.

The Cipali (Cikopo-Palimanan) toll road in West Java was identified as a crucial point for homecoming since it connects the Jakarta toll road to enter the Central Java area.

To this end, intensive coordination was conducted with the National Police Corps Traffic Corps, starting with the implementation of traffic engineering as well as monitoring and enforcement in the form of contraflow, one-way, and other forms of engineering.

State-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga predicts traffic volume during the homecoming through the four main toll gates at 2.21 million vehicles, a 2.8 percent increase from 2.15 million during the 2022 Idul Fitri.