Transport Minister Dudy Apologises for Severe Congestion on Tolls During Eid 2026

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has expressed apologies for the severe congestion on several toll road sections during the 2026 Eid al-Fitr homecoming and return traffic periods. The minister made this statement after closing the 2026 Eid Transportation Command Post on Monday (30/3/2026). The Transport Minister conveyed his apologies to the public for the inconvenience caused by the congestion. “We understand and also apologise for the density that occurred,” said Dudy. He revealed that the density happened on days leading up to 18 March 2026, which was the peak of the highest traffic flow. “The density occurred on certain days and before the 18th, if I’m not mistaken, one of the issues was at the rest areas,” said the Transport Minister. “That’s what caused the congestion, and as a note, 18 March was the highest peak ever recorded along the toll roads, especially on the Trans-Java route,” he explained. “Overall, it was about over 80 km per hour. If we look at it, that’s quite fast. But there were times, so we must see that it wasn’t throughout, but there were moments of density,” he said. According to him, the high volume of vehicles not matched by rest area capacity was one of the main causes of the congestion. “So this is with very high volume, and rest areas that were previously adequate, so this must be our attention for the future,” he continued. “Regarding the density on the toll roads, we will conduct a special evaluation, especially related to rest areas,” said Dudy. “Actually, if viewed from the density level, it wasn’t as dense as expected and as predicted. It’s just that the existence of rest areas and the flow at rest areas need to be evaluated for the coming years,” he stated.