Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi requested Eid al-Fitr homecoming exodus travelers to return to their residences on April 26-29 to avoid traffic congestion during the peak of the return period.
"The peak of the return flow is predicted to occur in two phases, April 24-25 and April 30-May 1," he noted during monitoring at the Kalikangkung toll road gate here on Friday.
According to the minister, returning during that period aims to anticipate congestion, especially for exodus travelers, who use toll roads to the western region or Jakarta.
He noted that based on the evaluation of the exodus flow, the peak of the departure flow occurred on April 19, 2023, or three days before Eid al-Fitr, which will fall on April 22, 2023.
On that day, the number of vehicles that entered Central Java through the Kalikangkung toll road gate reached 71 thousand.
Related news: Eid exodus running well: Minister
Nevertheless, he said, the figure was still high two days before Eid, reaching 67 thousand vehicles.
According to Sumadi, there had been an anomaly, as the number of vehicles entering the Trans Java toll road from several north coast (Pantura) regions of Java still remains high.
He believes the same condition might occur during the return period, which will reduce vehicle flow on the Cipali toll road.
The minister explained that the appeal to return on April 26-29 aims to prevent traffic flow from becoming stagnant and to make the return flow even.
On that occasion, the minister also lauded stakeholders for the smooth flow of exodus this year.
For this year's Eid al-Fitr, the government has projected the number of Eid exodus travelers to reach 123 million. The figure reflects an increase as compared to the number of exodus travelers in 2022, which stood at 85 million.
Related news: Police chief, TNI head, Transport Minister review exodus flow
Related news: Exodus: Ministry launches e-book on Java destinations
Editor : Mahdani
COPYRIGHT © ANTARA News Kalimantan Selatan 2023