Forty-two percent, or nearly half, of all travelers are expected to travel by land, mostly using private vehicles.
The yearend homecoming travel season is expected to peak from Friday through Sunday. The Transportation Ministry estimates that the number of vehicles on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road on Friday, Dec. 22, would increase by about 32 percent compared to the normal volume. A total of 103,000 vehicles are expected to pass through the Cikarang Utama toll gate.
A surge in traffic is also expected on Friday, Dec. 29, when about 95,500 vehicles are expected to pass through the Cikarang Utama toll gate, up 22.4 percent from a typical day.
Police traffic corps head Insp. Gen. Royke Lumowa said traffic congestion would also occur on strategic toll roads connecting Jakarta and Bandung and other major cities on Java. "This year, the Christmas holidays not only coincide with school holidays, but also coincides with extended work holidays," he said on Sunday in Jakarta.
The potential congestion on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road could be even worse, not only because of the increased number of vehicles from Jakarta, but also because of construction on the light rail transit (LRT) lines connecting Cawang, East Jakarta and East Bekasi.
In addition, an overpass is being constructed along the Kilometer 9 to Kilometer 47 toll road section, as well as the Jakarta-Bandung fast train construction project from at Km 0 to Km 42.
Brebes alert
Royke said other severe congestion was expected at the East Brebes toll road exit in Central Java, which is the last exit on the toll road connecting Jakarta, Cikampek, and Palimanan.
The Pejagan to Gringsing (Batang) toll road, which was opened temporarily during the Idul Fitri holday, cannot be reopened during the yearend holidays, as the 105-kilometer toll road is currently closed.
"The toll road to Gringsing, which was temporarily used during the Idul Fitri 2017, will not be operated because its construction has not been completed. Its construction is expected to be completed during Idul Fitri next year," said Zurmalyan Iskandar, head of the Kanci-Pejagan-Pemalang toll road at PT Jasa Marga.
From the East Brebes exit, travelers are recommended to enter the Pemalang-Pekalongan toll road or, if they want to go to southward, they can exit at the Pejagan tollgate before entering the Ketanggungan-Prupuk-Bumiayu toll road.
Non-cash transactions
On normal days, the number of vehicles passing the East Brebes exit reaches 5,000-6,000 vehicles. However, at the peak of the Christmas and New Year holiday season this weekend, this figure is predicted to triple.
The greater increase in the number of vehicles passing the East Brebes exit is expected following October’s implementation of non-cash transactions on all toll roads on Java.
Zurmalyan said the non-cash transactions could speed up payment at the toll gates, with transaction times reduced by 4 to 5 seconds per vehicle compared to cash transactions.
However, on the other hand, non-cash transactions could cause a problem if the toll road users had an insufficient balance on their electronic payment cards. For information, the toll from Cikarang Utama gate to East Brebes totals Rp 165,000 for Category I vehicles, which includes sedans and vans.
In order to minimize traffic problems, Zurmalyan appealed to travelers to make sure that they had enough balance on their e-payment cards before traveling. If they did not, the exit tollgate would not open, causing a long queue and even a vehicle pileup.
Nevertheless, Zurmalyan said he would be deploying a number of Jasa Marga officials at the toll exits. "The officers are equipped with electronic cards to tap the exit panels. Thus, drivers whose electronic cards do not have a sufficient balance can pay in cash," he said.
Temporarily stopped
In order to reduce congestion on the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road, the Transportation Ministry’s director general of land transportation, Budi Setiyadi, said his office had asked the Toll Road Regulatory Agency and PT Adhi Karya, the developer of the Jakarta-Bekasi LRT, to temporarily stop construction on the LRT project from Dec. 22 throughJan. 2.
The safety barriers for the LRT project, among other things, should be temporarily removed within the stipulated period. "Light projects are not a problem. However, the temporary suspension is mandatory for large projects that involve heavy equipment," said Budi.
In order to prevent congestion, the ministry has also issued an operational restriction for large freight trucks on a number of toll roads, such as the Jakarta-Cikampek-Palimanan-Brebes toll road, from Dec. 22-23 and Dec. 29-30.
Vehicles transporting livestock, postal and bank notes, as well as staple goods, are still allowed to use these toll roads. The delivery restriction is almost the same as that of last year.
“However, this year, the operational period for the trucks are shorter," said Budi.
Indonesian Trucking Enterprise Association (Aptrindo) general chairman Gilang Tarigan supported the ministry’s policy. He was grateful that the government did not ban, and only limited, truck operations during the yearend holidays, so export-import activities were not disrupted.
"Almost all factories are rushing to achieve their target at the end of the year. Even with the restriction, trucks are still allowed to use non-toll roads," Gilang said.
Meanwhile, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi appealed to the public to make good travel plans to avoid congestion at the weekend. He hoped some people would travel to their hometowns earlier, and not wait until this weekend.
(TAM/JUM/DD10)
