Half of Indonesia's Population Expected to Travel Home for 2026 Eid Holiday, Says Transport Ministry

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub), the total number of people travelling during the 2026 Eid al-Fitr transportation period will be 50.60 per cent of the population, or 143.91 million people. This figure is based on the results of a national survey conducted by the Transportation Policy Agency (BKT) of the Ministry of Transportation. The largest number of Eid travellers in 2026 will come from West Java, with 30.97 million people, followed by Jakarta (19.93 million people) and East Java (17.12 million people). In terms of destinations, the largest flow will be towards Central Java, with 38.71 million people, followed by East Java (27.29 million people) and West Java (25.09 million people). “This is the basis for us to continue preparing for the 2026 Eid transportation period in a comprehensive manner,” said Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi at a Coordination Meeting on the Preparation for the Implementation of the 2026 Eid Transportation, held at the Ministry of Transportation’s headquarters in Jakarta on Tuesday evening (24/2/2026). At the district/city level, the origin of travel is dominated by densely populated areas such as East Jakarta, Bogor Regency, and Bekasi Regency. Meanwhile, many destinations are concentrated in districts in Central Java. Dudy said that the largest origin areas for people travelling from the Greater Jakarta area (Jabodetabek) are Bogor Regency and Tangerang Regency. Meanwhile, the favourite destination province for people from Jabodetabek is Central Java. Based on the same survey, the Ministry of Transportation noted that the most dominant mode of transport used is private cars, with 76.24 million people, followed by motorcycles (24.08 million people) and buses (23.34 million people). In terms of routes used, the majority of car users choose toll roads, with 50.63 million people. Meanwhile, the majority of motorcycle users choose alternative routes other than the main routes, with 8.65 million people. “We urge the public to use public transport to improve safety, reduce congestion, and minimise the risk of accidents due to high mobility during Eid,” Dudy said. For the forecast of the busiest transport hubs during the 2026 Eid transportation period, the busiest origin stations include Pasar Senen Station with 2.38 million people and the busiest destination station is Yogyakarta Tugu Station with 867,000 people. The busiest origin airport is Soekarno-Hatta Airport with 2.13 million people and the busiest destination airport is Soekarno-Hatta Airport with 1.05 million people. The busiest origin terminal is Pulo Gebang Terminal with 2.31 million people and the busiest destination terminal is Tirtonadi Terminal with 1.44 million people. The busiest origin port is Tanjung Priok Port with 214,000 people and the busiest destination port is Tanjung Perak Port with 158,000 people. The busiest crossing route is the Merak-Bakauheni crossing with 6.06 million people. “The Ministry of Transportation has also prepared supporting transport facilities and infrastructure for the 2026 Eid transportation. This includes preparing 31,000 buses with a capacity of 1.25 million passengers for land transport,” he added. Furthermore, 829 ships with a capacity of 3.26 million passengers and 636 seaports have been prepared for sea transport. For ferry transport, 255 ships with a capacity of 6.15 million passengers and 770,000 vehicles have been prepared, operating on 15 routes and 29 ports. For air transport, 392 aircraft (serviceable) and 257 airports have been prepared. For rail transport, 3,821 units and 668 stations have been prepared.