Jakarta Rush Hour Shifts During Ramadan: Here Are the Predictions

The Jakarta Metropolitan Police Traffic Directorate (Ditlantas Polda Metro Jaya) has predicted that rush hour congestion across the DKI Jakarta region and surrounding areas will shift during the month of Ramadan.

The shift is a consequence of changes to office start times and work-from-anywhere (WFA) policies. Based on these factors, morning rush hour congestion on working days is predicted to occur between 9:00am and 10:00am Western Indonesian Time.

“So the movement of traffic is likely to be between 9am and 10am in the morning,” said the Head of Operations at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police Traffic Directorate, Police Commissioner Robby Hefados, to reporters on Wednesday (19 February).

Meanwhile, afternoon congestion is predicted to shift earlier, to around 2:00pm to 3:00pm. This is attributed to large numbers of people heading out to purchase takjil and other breaking-fast provisions.

“As for the afternoon, it is highly likely that many of our residents will want to break their fast with their families, so it is highly probable that between 2pm and 3pm there will already be an increase in the volume of vehicles heading towards Bekasi and the southern areas,” he said.

Robby stated that his department has also mapped out congestion points and busy takjil locations as well as Ramadan bazaars that have the potential to cause traffic jams.

“We have already mapped them out — Benhil (Bendungan Hilir) is one, and several other locations that have the potential to disrupt traffic flow. We will deploy traffic personnel in these takjil areas,” he said.

The Isbat session held by the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) yesterday determined that the beginning of fasting, or 1 Ramadan 1447 Hijriah, falls on Thursday, 19 February 2026.

The decision was taken based on the results of the Isbat session to determine the start of Ramadan 1447 H, chaired directly by Minister of Religious Affairs Nasaruddin Umar at Hotel Borobudur, Jakarta, on Tuesday (17 February).

“Based on the results of astronomical calculations and the absence of any visible hilal (new crescent moon), it was agreed that 1 Ramadan falls on 19 February 2026,” said Nasaruddin.