Alternative Routes Removed from Google Maps for Purwomartani Toll Gate

PT Jasamarga Jogja-Solo (JMJ) has removed alternative routes or rat paths directing towards the Purwomartani Toll Gate in Kalasan, Sleman, Yogyakarta, from the Google Maps navigation application. The removal was carried out following incidents where many holiday travellers driving cars got lost and had to pass through narrow village roads and paddy field areas on Tuesday, 24 March 2026. The travellers were suspected of seeking alternative paths to the Yogya-Solo toll gate section to avoid long traffic jams paralysing the main Solo-Yogyakarta artery. PT Jasamarga Jogja-Solo’s spokesperson, Rachmat Jesiman, stated that the deletion of these misleading access routes on the digital navigation platform is to prevent continuous misdirection of holiday travellers. “The routes leading to the Purwomartani Toll Gate on Google Maps have now been removed,” Rachmat said on Tuesday evening, 24 March 2026. He explained that the removal is intended to direct all vehicles back to the main verified routes for the safety, security, and smooth flow of holiday travellers. Before these routes were removed, it was estimated that hundreds of four-wheeled vehicles with out-of-town licence plates had strayed onto small, un-asphalted paths in paddy fields since 3:00 PM WIB. The Lebaran holiday travellers who had already entered the narrow paths faced difficulties turning back to the main route and could only continue forward until finding a more suitable road. Rachmat added that his company has also added directional signs to the Purwomartani Toll Gate and stationed personnel at key points. This is done to ensure that holiday travellers no longer get lost. He further stated that the safe main access to the toll gate is currently only via the National Road Jogja-Solo. Efforts to regulate these routes are crucial as vehicle traffic entering through the toll gate showed a significant increase in volume on Tuesday. Based on the latest data from the Back Office Smart Province of the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) as of 24 March 2026, the peak inbound flow at the toll gate was recorded from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM WIB, with a volume of 1,899 vehicles in one hour. Cumulatively until 6:00 PM on the same day, 16,527 vehicles had entered the functional lane through that gate.