Post-Eid, Return Traffic Begins

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah celebrations have concluded, accompanied by holidaymakers preparing to return to Jakarta or other major cities to resume their livelihoods. After the outbound migration to villages, it is now time for workers to head back to the cities. Holidaymakers from various regions are beginning to work again in the cities from mid-week or early next week. High density of returnees was evident from the vehicle flow on the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) Toll Road in Cirebon, West Java, heading towards Jakarta, which increased significantly on Monday (23/3) morning compared to the previous day. “That number increased by 161.5 percent compared to the vehicle volume at the same time the previous day,” said Sustainability Management & Corporate Communications Dept. Head of Astra Tol Cipali, Ardam Rafif Trisilo. He stated that the increase in traffic flow on that toll road section indicates the beginning of the Eid return traffic. “This increase in traffic volume towards Jakarta signals that the return flow has started,” said Ardam. From 00:00 to 09:00 WIB, around 13,000 vehicles were recorded passing Cikopo towards Jakarta. For the flow from Cikopo towards Cirebon, around 12,000 units were recorded. According to him, the accumulated vehicles passing showed a decrease of about 36.3 percent compared to the previous day’s data. “The flow towards Cirebon is observed to be easing compared to the previous day,” said Ardam. Overall, the traffic volume on the Cipali Toll Road increased by around 4.2 percent compared to Sunday (22/3) data. One Way Cipali To smooth the return flow, a one-way traffic arrangement towards Jakarta was implemented on the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) Toll Road starting Monday (23/3) at 17:08 WIB. The one-way application starts from KM 263 of the Pejagan-Pemalang Toll to KM 70 of the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll. Before the one-way return arrangement was implemented, preparatory steps such as sterilisation of the Jakarta-bound lane and rest areas were carried out on Monday (23/3) from 14:00 WIB. The one-way implementation is situational, following the discretion of the National Police Traffic Corps. Based on data from 00:00 WIB to 17:00 WIB on Monday (23/3), the traffic flow towards Jakarta passing through the Cipali Toll Road was observed to increase significantly with busy but smooth conditions. Astra Tol Cipali urges all road users to always prioritise safety, maintain safe distances between vehicles, and comply with instructions from on-site officers during the traffic arrangement period. To ensure collective safety, road users are expected not to change lanes or use U-turns during the one-way period. “We also urge not to stop on the roadside except in emergencies,” said Ardam. Meanwhile, for road users who wish to rest, if rest area capacity is full, they can exit through the nearest toll gate to rest without tariff changes due to the closed transaction system. On the Cipali Toll Road, several rest areas are available, namely KM 86, KM 102, KM 130A, and KM 166 towards Cirebon, as well as KM 164, KM 130B, KM 101, and functional rest area KM 77 towards Jakarta. Bakauheni