Indonesia Gov't Prepares Steps to Manage Annual Homecoming Exodus

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.

As for the return flow, 2.32 million vehicles are predicted to pass through the four main toll gates, up 1.4 percent from 2.29 million during the 2022 Idul Fitri holidays.

To support this year’s homecoming, Jasa Marga and the Toll Road Management Agency (BPJT) will operate 58 rest areas on both toll road sections as places of rest and provide service for travelers.

The Transportation Ministry will also prepare additional ferry ports to divert traffic at Merak Port in Banten and Bakauheni Port in South Lampung. Ciwandan Port in Banten and Panjang Port in Bandar Lampung have been prepared to anticipate congestion at the two ports.

Air Transportation

Regarding air connectivity, traffic density is forecast at several airports, namely in Bali, Makassar, Surabaya, and Medan.