Anticipating Overcrowding on Pantura

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The one-way traffic control system and an expected surge in the number of motorcyclists could cause potential overcrowding on Java’s northern coastal highway.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Potential overcrowding is expected on Java’s northern coastal highway (Pantura highway). In addition to a surge in the number of motorcyclists, the highway is expected to fill with cars and buses heading to Jakarta from the east, once the one-way traffic control system is implemented on the Trans-Java toll road. The government must therefore anticipate the potential for overcrowding on the Pantura highway.

A survey conducted by the Transportation Ministry\'s Research and Development Agency estimates that 32 percent of 942,621 motorcyclists from Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi (Jabodetabek) will use the Pantura highway. Meanwhile, it estimated that 14.9 million people will be traveling from Jabodetabek using various modes of transportation.

The estimated number of motorcyclists from Jabodetabek shows a year-on-year increase of more than 50 percent from 607,855 motorcyclists in 2018. The Transportation Ministry estimated that 6.85 million motorcyclists nationwide would hit the roads during the Idul Fitri holiday season this year, up 10.8 percent from 6.19 million motorcyclists in 2018.

Aside from motorcyclists, an estimated 1.1 million other travelers are expected to use more than 273,000 private vehicles to travel the northern coastal highway for mudik (exodus) travel. In addition, vehicles and buses heading to Jakarta from the east are expected to use the highway when the one-way traffic control system is implemented from May 30, six days before Idul Fitri/Lebaran (the two-day holiday that marks the end of Ramadan), until June 2, two days before Lebaran.

One-way traffic control

The National Police’s traffic unit plans to apply a one-way traffic control system during mudik from May 30 to June 2 on the Trans-Java toll road, from Kilometer Marker (KM) 70 of the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road section to KM 263 of the Pejagan-Pemalang section. The one-way system will be implemented from June 7 to June 9 to manage return travel. The one-way system is active from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The police will also implement a contraflow system for mudik travel and post-Lebaran return travel. The contraflow system will be implemented from KM 29 to KM 61 of the Jakarta-Cikampek section from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Yoga Adiwinarto, the director of the Indonesian Institute for Transportation & Development Policy (ITDP), believed that applying the one-way system from KM 70 in Cikampek to KM 263 in Brebes on the Trans-Java toll road was too long. Applying the system from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on May 30-June 2 would cause congestion on other routes, including the Pantura highway.

"Once the one-way system is applied, vehicles heading to Jakarta from the east can only use alternative roads from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., when cars, motorcycles and buses will flock to the Pantura highway," Yoga said on Monday (5/27/2019) in Jakarta.

Yoga said that trading and urban activities along the Pantura highway also needed to be monitored, especially when entering the highway in cities such as Cirebon, Tegal and Brebes. Traffic engineering measures were still needed at key congestion points.

Bus operators’ worries

It is feared that applying the one-way traffic control system to the Trans-Java toll road during the mudik travel season would also disrupt bus arrivals to Jakarta. Bus operators have therefore called for traffic engineering measures to prevent buses from becoming trapped in congestion on the Pantura highway.

Kurnia Lesani Adnan, the general chairman of the Indonesian Young Bus Entrepreneurs Association, said that bus companies had proposed a traffic engineering scheme for buses passing through Brebes to Jakarta via the Pantura highway.

Bus operators had also adjusted their departure times and operation schedules to prevent overcrowding at bus terminals due to delays. He expected heavy congestion on May 31-June 2 as a result of a large volume of buses traveling the Pantura highway.

The logistics, multimode and transportation safety expert staff to the Transportation Minister, Cris Kuntadi, explained that the one-way system would be adjusted to fit actual road conditions, stressing that the ministry did not want to hinder the arrival schedule for buses.

Aside from the one-way system, several other factors could cause congestion on the northern coastal highway, such as busy trading at public markets, a high volume of vehicles at intersections and road repairs.

Kompas has observed that congestion could occur on the Pantura highway in Cirebon and Indramayu in West Java, because of heavy activities at public markets. Cirebon has a number of busy markets, including the Tegalgubug textile market, which is crowded on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and the Gebang fish market and Weru cake market, which are open every day.

In Indramayu are the Cilet market, which is open Sundays and Wednesdays, Eretan market (Fridays), Parean market (Saturdays), and Patrol market and Kertasemaya market, which are open daily from morning to evening.

The head of the Indramayu Police traffic unit, Adj. Comr. Asep Nugraha, said that crowded markets in the area would be under tight control from Wednesday (5/29/2019) – seven days before Lebaran – to prevent heavy congestion on the Pantura highway due to the one-way system.

Operation director Subakti Syukur of state-owned toll road company PT Jasa Marga said that a special lane had been prepared from the Cikampek tollgate at KM 72 to facilitate the public buses traveling to Jakarta. Through this special lane from Cikampek toll gate, Buses could still use the toll road to travel to Jakarta using the special lane, even after the one-way system was implemented.

(FRD/DVD/HRS/TAM/IKI/ETA/WER/MEL/ITA/ILO)

Editor:

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