Heavy Traffic in Toll Roads during Long Holiday despite Pandemic

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several toll road operators reported an increase in the traffic during the long holiday of the Islamic New Year 1442 Hijri despite the ongoing pandemic of Covid-19.

Muhammad Fauzan, Senior Executive Vice President of PT Hutama Karya, noted that traffic hike in the Trans Sumatra toll road operated by his firm on Thursday, August 20.

“On Thursday (August 20), there was an increase in the volume of vehicles bound for Sumatra through the South Bakauheni toll gate with a total of 6,403 vehicles,” he told Bisnis on Sunday, August 23.

When compared with the normal condition of 5,000 vehicles per day, the increase reached up to 28 percent. Meanwhile, the return flow to Jakarta or Java Island on the Sumatra toll road had not seen a significant increase as of Sunday afternoon.

State-owned toll road operator Jasa Marga on Saturday, August 22, logged 460,792 vehicles leaving Jakarta within three days, or on D-1 to D+1 of the new year celebration (August 19-21). The hike was 27.3 percent compared to the normal traffic.

Jasa Marga Corporate Communication and Community Development Group Head, Dwimawan Heru, explained that the figure was the cumulative volume of traffic from several main toll gates (GT), namely Cikupa GT, Ciawi, Cikampek, and Kalihurip Utama.

On Sunday, August 23, Jasa Marga saw 153,806 vehicles returning to Jakarta. The traffic volume rose by 41.4 percent than that of normal weekends.

Read also: New Normal: Jasa Marga Sees Higher Turnpike Traffic

BISNIS