Damri Aims to Serve 2.7 Million Lebaran Travellers with 1,800 Buses
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Damri, the state-owned bus company, is preparing thousands of buses to service the Lebaran mudik this year. The company targets to serve around 2.7 million customers through regular transport services as well as the free mudik programme facilitated by various government agencies and companies.
Wahyu Susilo, Damri’s Vice President of Operations & Safety, said the company plays an important role as a public transport operator in helping people return to their home towns for Lebaran.
‘Damri plans to operate an average of between 1,592 and 1,800 bus units during the Lebaran period. With this readiness, we aim to serve around 2.7 million customers over the mudik Lebaran period,’ Wahyu said in Jakarta on Friday (6 March 2026).
Besides regular services, Damri is also involved in the free mudik programme facilitated by various agencies. This year, the company expects to operate around 260 buses for the programme.
According to Wahyu, demand is expected to rise on several main routes, particularly journeys from Jakarta to Central Java, East Java, Bali, Lampung, and Palembang.
Additionally, airport transport services are expected to see a surge in passengers as many mudik travellers use air travel.
To ensure travel safety, Damri has prepared various operational measures, ranging from crew readiness checks to layered vehicle inspections.
‘All crew members are required to undergo a fit-to-work procedure before duty. This is part of the company’s standard operating procedures to ensure the crew are fit to work,’ he said.
On the fleet side, Damri conducts staged vehicle checks or ramp checks. The first inspection is performed by the branch, then verified by the head office, and later also carried out by government authorities such as the Ministry of Transportation and the police.
Additionally, Damri has prepared operational strategies to anticipate traffic policies during mudik, such as contraflow or one-way arrangements on certain tol roads.
‘If one-way is implemented eastward, eastbound travel may be smooth, but buses must still return west. That is part of our calculations in scheduling and fleet readiness,’ Wahyu explained.
Some Damri routes also involve inter-island crossings, such as to Bali via the Bali Strait and to Sumatra via the Sunda Strait.