The Power That Pressurises Eid Homecoming Costs on the Trans-Java Toll Road

Cirebon (ANTARA) - Every Eid homecoming season, one calculation that mudik travellers never overlook is the cost of the journey. Fuel budgets are prepared well in advance, as covering hundreds of kilometres, especially along the Trans-Java toll road, can drain wallets. Queues of vehicles filling up with fuel are a common sight behind the mudik moment. However, a new story is emerging amid this annual tradition. The way to calculate mudik costs is beginning to change. The journey home to the village is no longer measured by how many litres of petrol go into the tank, but by battery percentage. Rest Area The air temperature on Sunday (15/3) afternoon felt quite hot when ANTARA visited the Rest Area at KM 166 of the Cikopo-Palimanan Toll (Cipali) in Majalengka, West Java. From afar, many mudik travellers could be seen stopping at this location, simply to rest before continuing their journey. On another side of the area, a car without engine noise was parked near the Public Electric Vehicle Charging Station (SPKLU). That is where Sendika (35) stood. The screen on the charging device displayed a slowly increasing battery percentage, indicating that the energy to continue the journey was being replenished. The man from South Tangerang was undertaking the mudik journey to Cirebon, West Java, with his wife and two children. For him, the homecoming trip to the city on the north coast of West Java was not new. Because, for more than a decade, Sendika has followed the same routine every Eid. “I’ve been mudiking to Cirebon for 11 years. The whole family is there, at my parents’ house,” he said. At the Rest Area KM 166, where he stopped, there are several fast charger units available. Sendika chose a 120 kilowatt (kW) charger that can fill the battery from around 20 percent to full in less than an hour. While waiting for the battery to charge, he used the time to rest with his family before continuing the journey to Cirebon.