Realising humanised toll roads during Lebaran exodus
Jakarta — Lebaran is approaching soon, as the famous old saying goes. And celebrating Lebaran without returning to one’s hometown feels incomplete, to borrow a Gen Z expression.
Returning to one’s hometown for Lebaran has been a cultural phenomenon since time immemorial, and has experienced significant growth since the 1970s. People make considerable effort to celebrate Eid al-Fitr by travelling back to their hometowns with all available means. The government has also appeared enthusiastic in overseeing this annual tradition, particularly from the infrastructure and transportation management perspective, spanning land, sea/ferry, and air sectors.
In the land sector, toll roads have played a vital role for over seven years and have become favoured by travellers, especially since the integrated Trans-Java toll road was established, including the Trans-Sumatra toll road. According to estimates, approximately 3.67 million vehicles are expected to use the Jakarta-Cikampek toll route heading eastward towards Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java during the 2026 Lebaran exodus. Overall, the Ministry of Transport predicts 144 million journeys will take place across Indonesia during the 2026 Lebaran exodus. That is quite remarkable.
Specifically for toll roads, the government, through the Ministry of Public Works, the Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT), and toll road operators, are employing a comprehensive tactical approach similar to total football. This approach aims to ensure toll roads function reliably and humanely, achieving minimal service standards (SPM) for toll road operations.
The SPM standards are reflected in key actions, such as ensuring no potholes exist, completing all toll road maintenance work by ten days before the holiday, guaranteeing reliable toll gate transactions by increasing card readers, and conducting extensive public information campaigns to toll road users about maintaining adequate e-toll balance. Road operators are also tasked with developing constructive and humane communication strategies with the public as toll road users.
Potholes warrant special attention during extreme weather conditions. This phenomenon occurs not only on arterial roads but also on toll roads. Furthermore, toll road managers are asked to build constructive and humane communication strategies with the public using toll roads.
Are these prerequisites sufficient to accommodate a humane Lebaran exodus? It appears not — traffic management engineering efforts must still be undertaken, primarily under the control of the Ministry of Transport and the National Police Traffic Corps.