National Traffic Police Predict Peak Homecoming Travel Today, National One-Way System Ready to Be Implemented
Indonesia’s Korps Lalu Lintas Kepolisian Negara Republik Indonesia (Korlantas Polri), or National Traffic Police, has predicted that the peak of homecoming travel will occur on Wednesday, 18 March 2026. The police force, working with the Ministry of Transport and toll road operators, has prepared implementation of a national one-way system as the primary traffic control measure. Senior Officer of Korlantas Polri, Inspector General Agus Suryonugroho, stated that the preparations have been finalised through inter-agency coordination. He also revealed that he had received direct instructions from the National Police leadership regarding the implementation of national-level traffic engineering.
“We have prepared the national one-way system and have received direction from the National Police Chief, Transport Minister, and the Chief Executive of Jasa Marga for the flag-off implementation,” said Agus in Cikampek on Wednesday, 18 March 2026.
Previously, on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, Korlantas began implementing staged traffic engineering through a partial one-way system on the Jakarta–Cikampek toll section. This policy was adopted in response to the continuously increasing vehicle flow heading towards the Trans-Java route.
Agus explained that traffic engineering is conducted based on measurable traffic generation parameters. The stages progress from contraflow, through partial one-way implementation, to full national one-way application.
“The plan is to conduct the flag-off of the national one-way system around 12:00 noon, likely to be led directly by the Transport Minister,” he said.
Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi stated that the government continues to monitor traffic conditions to ensure smooth travel for homecoming commuters. Early-stage traffic engineering is considered capable of maintaining controlled traffic flow.
He emphasised that the policy forms part of a scenario developed jointly across agencies and follows guidance contained in the joint decision letter.
“So far, traffic flow remains controlled and we hope the entire homecoming season can proceed smoothly,” said Dudy.
Chief Executive Director of PT Jasa Marga, Rivan A. Purwantono, reported that the volume of vehicles leaving Jakarta continues to increase. By Tuesday at 14:00 noon, the number of vehicles departing the capital had reached approximately 1.1 million units, representing 32 per cent of projections.
The increase in traffic flow is expected to continue throughout the evening as it approaches the peak homecoming period. This situation provides the basis for strengthening traffic engineering along the primary Trans-Java route.
Traffic engineering will continue to be evaluated according to the dynamics of vehicle movement in the field. The peak traffic on 18 March is the primary focus of national-level traffic control.
All stakeholders are intensifying coordination to ensure that homecoming travel proceeds safely and smoothly throughout the Eid return journey.