National Leave Reduces Traffic Congestion During Eid Mass Exodus: Govt

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Human Development and Culture Coordinating Minister Muhadjir Effendy on Wednesday said the extension of the Eid al-Fitr national leave helped reduce traffic congestion during the mass exodus tradition subsequent to the Islamic national holiday. 

He believed that traffic throughout national toll roads and highways was indeed congested but not at the severe level witnessed in the past, Antaranews reported.

"It looks like it's going well because as of today, at the four main toll roads in Cikampek, [homecoming traveler vehicles] haven't reached 30 percent, meaning from tomorrow to Sunday next week, it will be flat; it will be crowded but there won't be jostling," said Muhadjir at the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta on April 26.

The government previously adjusted the national Eid collective leave that was initially set between April 21-26 and added one extra day that took effect from April 19-25. This was deemed important to prevent travelers from congesting public roads ahead of the Eid celebration.

The Ministry of Transportation predicts that there will be 203,000 vehicles on a daily average departing from the East of Java Island, namely from the Trans Java Toll Road and from the direction of Bandung via the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road.

Currently -- in terms of the annual mass exodus -- the government predicts that it has entered the second wave of mudik travelers returning to their area of origin.

ANTARA

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