Ride a motorbike smoothly, use a car that gets stuck in traffic

The Ministry of Transportation noted that the trend of using public transportation and motorbikes is increasing. Car use tends to fall.

KOMPAS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA

Motorbike travelers pass along Jalan Raya Pantura, Subang, West Java, Sunday (7/4/2024).

The use of motorcycles as a mode of transportation for returning to hometowns during holiday season is increasingly favored by the public, while the use of private cars tends to decline. Its ability to arrive earlier and practicality in hometowns attract attention to this transportation option.

At the General Fuel Filling Station, Simpang Jomin, Karawang, West Java, on Sunday (4/7/2024), hundreds of motorcycle riders took a break while waiting for iftar time.

Several automatic motorbikes were parked near the mosque. Bayu Maarif (24), a migrant from Bekasi, explained that this was the second time he used a motorbike to return home to Banyumas, Central Java. He departed at 17.00 and arrived in Karawang, West Java, at 19.00. His journey this time was relatively smooth because there was no traffic congestion along the way.

"Traffic only gets congested at the intersection of Bekasi Station, where motorcyclists from Jakarta and Bekasi meet. It's smooth sailing all the way to Karawang," he said in Karawang on Sunday.

He targeted to reach Banyumas on Monday (8/4/2024) at 07.00 in the morning. Motor transportation was chosen because it was considered effective in avoiding traffic jams. Referring to his previous trip, he refueled with pertalite five times. The cost was cheaper compared to buying a bus or train ticket.

Also read: Second Day of Peak Homecoming Flow, Cikampek-Cipali Quite Smoothly

Balqi (53), a traveler from Grogol, West Jakarta en route to Tegal, Central Java, also chose a motorcycle because it was considered efficient. If he uses a bus, he still has to continue the journey for 1-2 hours towards his hometown. Balqi left at 3:00 PM and arrived in Karawang at around 7:00 PM. Similar to Bayu, he only experienced traffic congestion in Kalimalang, the border of East Jakarta to Bekasi Station, West Java.

Meanwhile, Charolina Septiayuka (27), a mudik traveler by car, got stuck in traffic on her journey from Depok, West Java to Surakarta, Central Java on Saturday (6/4/2024). She left Depok at 6:30 AM and reached Cikampek via the Cijago-Cibitung toll road in less than 30 minutes. The congestion started when she entered the Cikampek Toll Gate, West Java.

Under normal conditions, the journey from Cikampek to Surakarta takes only about 5-7 hours. However, it took up to 12 hours during the recent homecoming exodus with the same distance traveled. The worst congestion occurred at Kalikangkung toll gate in Central Java and the Semarang-Salatiga stretch in Central Java.

The source of congestion comes from rest areas and GTs. Not to mention that many travelers stop on the shoulder of the toll road, both in the fast lane (far right side) and the slow lane (far left side).

KOMPAS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA

Smooth traffic flow on the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) Toll Road kilometer 84, Subang, West Java, Sunday (7/4/2024).

“There's really traffic jams from Cikampek to Surakarta. There are roads, but most of them are jammed. "The traffic jam was so bad, I even used the hand brake (handbrake) because it took so long to stop," he said.

Motorbike up

During Eid 2024, the trend of using public transportation and two-wheeled vehicles has increased significantly. Meanwhile, the use of private transportation has declined. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation (Kemhub) Adita Irawati explained that as of Saturday or D-4 of Eid, the total number of public transport passengers had reached 1,144,265 passengers. Air transportation is the highest among all other modes of public transportation.

Based on data from the Ministry of Transportation's Integrated Post, the total number of public transportation passengers has increased by 20.49 percent compared to last year's Eid period, namely 949,675 passengers.

In detail, air transportation carried 320,240 passengers, a 20.62% increase compared to last year's Eid al-Fitr period at 189,073 passengers. Then there is ferry transportation that carried 315,374 passengers, increasing by 17.62% compared to last year's 268,124 passengers. Next, land transportation carried 224,880 passengers, or an increase of 18.94% from last year's figure of 189,073 passengers.

Also read: Highly Stable, Peak Homecoming Flow in Central Java Cannot Be Predicted

Next, there is the train mode of transportation carrying 189,281 passengers, which is a 26.6 percent increase from last year's Eid period of 149,915 passengers. Lastly, sea transportation carried 92,344 passengers, a 19.8 percent increase from last year's 77,069 passengers.

"Air transportation users are the largest until 4 days before Eid," he said in Jakarta, Sunday.

An increase can also be seen in the transportation mode of motorcycles. The movement of motorcycle users entering and leaving Jabodetabek is recorded at 1,331,452 vehicles and 1,990,598 people. This number increased using motorcycles exiting and entering Jabodetabek, on H-4 recorded as many as 1,331,542 vehicles and 1,990,498 people, up 99.99 percent compared to last year's Eid al-Fitr.

A decrease has occurred in the use of private four-wheeled vehicles. The authorities note that as many as 536,620 vehicles and 2,638,100 left Jakarta Bogor Depok Tangerang Bekasi (Jabodetabek) via toll roads owned by Jasa Marga such as the Jakarta-Cikampek, Jakarta-Tangerang, Jakarta-Bogor-Ciawi, and several other sections.

As for the number of vehicles entering Jabodetabek, there are 252,512 vehicles and 1,262,560 that have passed through the toll roads. In total, 789,132 and 3,945,660 people come in and out of Jabodetabek via Jasa Marga toll road.

Compared to last year's Eid period, the flow of traffic in and out of Jabodetabek has decreased by 26.76 percent from last year's figures of 1,077,488 vehicles and 5,387,440 people.

Not just toll roads, the flow of private vehicles entering and leaving Jabodetabek through arterial routes has also decreased. As of H-4, the number of vehicles leaving Jabodetabek through the arterial routes was recorded at 367,363 vehicles and 1,836,815 people, a decrease of 0.92 percent from last year's figure of 370,781 vehicles and 1,853,905 people.

The same thing is happening with cars entering Jakarta, which decreased by 16.88 percent to 354,786 vehicles and 1,773,930 people this year, from 426,836 vehicles and 2,134,180 people last year. The peak of the migration flow is predicted to still occur until Monday (8/4/2024). Anticipation must continue to be prepared.