Yogyakarta (ANTARA) - The Transportation Office of Yogyakarta recorded that as many as 970,461 vehicles, both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, had entered the Yogyakarta area during the 2022 Eid al-Fitr period.
"In total, from April 25, 2022, to today (four days after Eid), some 970,461 vehicles entered, while 911,597 vehicles left the area," Head of Traffic Division at the Yogyakarta Transportation Office Rizki Budi Utomo stated when contacted here on Friday.
Utomo admitted that the buildup of vehicles entering the Yogyakarta area was far below the initial projection, wherein the number of vehicles was forecast to increase by 20 percent as compared to the figure recorded during the 2019 Eid period.
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In 2019, the Yogyakarta Transportation Office recorded at least 2,149,596 vehicles entering the province during the Eid period.
According to Utomo, the vehicles for the 2022 Eid homecoming exodus had started to enter Yogyakarta before the office started keeping track of the numbers, which commenced seven days before Eid.
Utomo noted that there were around 59 thousand vehicles belonging to homecomers that stayed back in Yogyakarta for vacation or family gatherings.
"Some 59 thousand vehicles are still in Yogyakarta. This means that the homecomers are still spending time in Yogyakarta and are expected to leave this week," he pointed out.
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This year, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the Indonesian government has allowed people to travel to their hometowns to celebrate Eid al-Fitr in view of the improving pandemic situation in the country.
The government has also urged people joining the homecoming exodus to complete their primary and booster vaccinations. Those not meeting the vaccination requirement are urged to show a negative COVID-19 test result.
According to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Transportation, the number of people partaking in the 2022 Eid homecoming exodus reached 85 million.
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