Traffic policies were extended to curb congestion as travelers return. However, about 1.1 million vehicles will be returning to Greater Jakarta in the next five days.
By
Kompas Team
·5 minutes read
ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA
A line of homecoming vehicles that will enter the ferry at Bakauheni Port, Lampung, Tuesday (25/4/2023). Data from the Bakauheni Post for the period 24 to 25 April 2023 at 08.00, a total of 88,758 people had crossed from Bakauheni Port to Merak Port.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – As of Wednesday (26/4/2023) morning, it is projected as many as 1.1 million vehicles have yet to return to Greater Jakarta. Vehicle volume is expected to continuously increase over the next few days. The distribution of vehicles is key to prevent congestion.
Land transportation director general Hendro Sugiatno said as of Wednesday (26/4) at 6 a.m., a total of 1,114,483 vehicles, which is about 70 percent, had not returned through the four main tollgates of the projected total of 1,602,469 vehicles returning.
As many as 693,944 of these vehicles have yet to return through the Cikampek Utama and Kalihurip Utama tollgates. The remaining should be returning from west through Merak (Cikupa tollgate) and south through Bogor (Ciawi tollgate).
The amount of vehicles that have already passed through the four tollgates amounts to 487,986, a 17-percent increase compared to Idul Fitri last year in the same period.
“According to Jasa Marga’s traffic counting data, there are still a lot of vehicles returning, which averages up to 134,000 vehicles per day a week after Idul Fitri. If traffic policies are not implemented, the VCR [volume per capacity ration] is 1.02. This means toll roads will be congested as the VCR tolerance is 0.8,” he said.
Hendro explained the traffic arrangements implemented from 26-28 April 2023 in Central Java, West Java, Jakarta and Banten would greatly help smooth the flow of returning travelers. Even if there is congestion, it will still be easy to control.
KOMPAS/NIKSON SINAGA
Traffic jam on Jalan Letjen Jamin Ginting, Medan, North Sumatra, Tuesday (25/4/2023). During the peak of the return trip, traffic jams occurred on a number of national roads, such as Jalan Medan-Berastagi, Jalan Medan-Banda Aceh, and Jalan Lintas Sumatra.
Previously, a Joint Decree (SKB) was implemented in the form of traffic policies for the first round of returning travelers, which began from 24-26 April 2023 at 8 a.m. The second round will begin from 29 April to 2 May 2023, also at 8 a.m. The restriction of vehicles or trucks with a load of 14,000 kilograms has also been extended.
As before, the additional time for the one-way policy applies from kilometer 414 at the Kalikangkung tollgate to km 72 (Cikampek) starting on Wednesday, 26 April, and continuing until Friday, 28 April, from 8 a.m. to midnight.
Additionally, the contraflow policy is also implemented from km 72 (Cikampek) to km 47 (West Karawang). Moreover, the odd-even plate-number policy will also be implemented from km 414 (Kalikangkung tollgate) to km 27 (West Karawang) from Wednesday, 26 April, to Friday, 28 April, from 8 a.m. to midnight.
Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy conveyed that the call to extend the collective leave could reduce the density of returning travelers. The intercity toll road route is congested, but it is believed it will not be severe.
“It looks like it’s going well. This is because, as of today, the four toll road entries in Cikampek have not reached 30 percent. This means that from tomorrow to next Sunday, it will be stagnant,” he said following a meeting with Vice President Ma’ruf Amin at the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta.
ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA
Homecoming travelers on motorbikes talk while queuing to enter the ferry at Bakauheni Harbor, Lampung, Tuesday (25/4/2023).
Distribution of travelers
Thus far, the volume of vehicles heading to Jakarta from Kalikangkung tollgate, Central Java, has continued to increase in the last three days. The increase in vehicle volume triggered a buildup of vehicles in front of Kalikangkung tollgate on Tuesday afternoon, which led the Central Java Police to implement a local one-way route to km 425 Bawen, Semarang regency.
"One local route managed to break down the density so that we ended the policy on Tuesday at midnight," said Central Java Police traffic director Sr. Comr. Agus Suryo Nugroho when contacted.
Meanwhile, the Jambi Police’s Operation Ketupat task force recorded the number of vehicles crossing the Jambi border amounting to 19,742, a figure that doubled from the previous day.
"The increase in the number of vehicles returning is quite significant," said Comr. Dhafi, coordinator of the Jambi police’s Operation Ketupat task force.
In Surabaya, the flow of returning travelers is also increasing. This year, the flow of returning travelers is projected to occur twice, from Tuesday to Wednesday and Saturday to Sunday. “The return traffic flow through the roll road is growing increasingly intense,” said Hari Pratama, coordinator for the Jasa Marga task force’s operational alert team for Eid Al-Fitr for the East Java region.
Several days
The peak of returning travelers is estimated to be distributed within a few days until 1 May 2023. The increase in vehicle volume is predicted to occur on 26-29 April. Public transportation observer, Djoko Setijowarno, said 70 percent of the remaining returning travelers would be distributed across a week after Eid Al-Fitr. It is projected the second turning point will occur on 28-29 April.
Meanwhile, it is also predicted the number of returning travelers will increase during the period when toll road discounts are in effect, from 27-29 April. “Discounts are attractive and helpful for travelers returning on that date,” he said. (Z02/Z04/Z05/Z14/NMP/XTI/BRO/ITA/DKA/COK)
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