Minister of Transportation Predicts Second Backflow Peak on April 30 and May 1

Jakarta, MINA – The Minister of Transportation (Menhub) Budi Karya Sumadi appealed to the public to avoid making return trips on April 30 and May 1 2023 which are predicted to be the second peak of return traffic.

“For the past three days, Jasa Marga has provided a 20 percent discount on toll rates. Take advantage of the next three days for a return trip, not on Sunday or Monday,” said the Minister of Transportation, after monitoring the return flow at the Cikampek Toll Road on Thursday.

The Minister of Transportation said that as of Thursday or H+4 after Eid, there were still around 55.8 percent of vehicles that had not returned to Jakarta via the Trans Java Toll Road.

In addition to backflow, there are vehicle movements in agglomeration areas such as Jakarta, Bandung and their surroundings this weekend so that it will increase the number of vehicle movements that have the potential to cause total traffic jams if left unchecked.

‘We still have 5 more days until May 1, 2023 to keep the return flow smooth. Because there is still Kupat Eid in Central Java, East Java, and Madura which falls on Sunday, there is a tendency for people to travel back on Sunday or next Monday,” he said.

Budi ensured that his party and all relevant stakeholders continue to make efforts to ensure that the handling of return flows can be carried out as in the homecoming flow.

“The next few days there are still exams that must be passed. If this goes well until May 1, God willing, this safe and memorable homecoming can be realized,” said the Minister of Transportation.

Meanwhile, Head of the Traffic Police Corps, Indonesian National Police (Kakorlantas Polri) Inspector General Pol. Firman Santyabudi reminded people who will be traveling back to always be vigilant and prioritize safety when driving.

“With fairly smooth traffic going to Jakarta, so don’t be in a hurry to arrive and pay attention to the vehicle speed limit,” said Firman.

Firman said, traffic engineering such as contraflow, one way, and other engineering will still be carried out until the weekend, while still looking at the situation and field or situational conditions.

He also reminded the public to ensure that the balance of the toll payment electronic card is still sufficient, so that it does not cause queues because they have to top up the balance at the toll gate. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)