Child-friendly mudik service posts deemed necessary provision

Jakarta – The Chairman of the Association of Higher Education Academics throughout Indonesia (ASADIKTISI), Susanto, has assessed that child-friendly mudik service posts need to be provided, with higher education institutions able to facilitate these as part of their community service contributions.

Campus-based child-friendly mudik service posts, he stated, would provide play areas for children’s temporary rest, enjoyable literacy corners for children, health checks, psychological services if needed, light vehicle inspections to ensure family and child safety, and other services required by children.

“Through collaboration between government, community, higher education institutions, and active student participation, mudik can become a national mobility momentum that is safe, productive, and has a positive impact on Indonesia’s development,” Susanto said in Jakarta on Friday.

Beyond mudik service posts, higher education institutions are also considered capable of conducting road safety campaigns to the public, public transport drivers, and road user communities.

“Through outreach activities in communities, campuses can increase awareness about the importance of travel planning, road safety, and public transport use,” Susanto stated.

On the other hand, higher education institutions can cooperate with local governments, transport operators, and community groups to improve the quality of transport services during the Eid mudik period.

The Ministry of Transport noted that during the 2025 Eid transport period, the number of people travelling reached approximately 154.6 million, or approximately 54.89 per cent of Indonesia’s total population.

This movement resulted in more than 358 million national journeys during the mudik and return migration periods. These figures demonstrate that mudik is not merely a tradition, but also a national mobility phenomenon requiring mature, collaborative, and data-based transport management.

The peak of mudik traffic this year is estimated to occur in two waves, on 14–15 March and 18–19 March.

Meanwhile, the peak return migration traffic is predicted to fall on 24 and 25 March, as well as 28 and 29 March.

“With such large-scale mobility, mudik should not only be viewed as an annual activity, but as a momentum for developing national transport infrastructure and road safety literacy,” Susanto stated.