Transport Minister says WFA policy effectively eases Lebaran traffic congestion

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi stated that the work from anywhere (WFA) policy implemented during the outbound and return flows of the 1447 Hijriah/2026 CE Lebaran Transport period was effective in alleviating traffic congestion. “The WFA policy during the outbound flow proved effective in shifting a volume of 450,000 vehicles from H-3 to H-1 before Lebaran,” Dudy said in a statement in Jakarta on Tuesday. This vehicle shift was more evenly distributed from H-8 to H-4, helping to reduce the traffic surge at the peak of the outbound flow. As a result, according to him, traffic density at the peak of the outbound flow was reduced by up to 17.94% compared to conditions without the policy. During the return flow period, a similar policy managed to shift around 328,000 vehicles from H to H+3 to the H+4 to H+8 Lebaran period. He explained that this more even distribution of the return flow also lowered the density level at the peak of the return flow by 10.57% overall. In addition, the Transport Minister stated that the goods transport restriction policy also made a significant contribution by reducing the volume of three-axle vehicles by up to 74.56% during the Lebaran period. The Ministry of Transport also took action against operational violations by issuing administrative sanctions to 75 goods transport companies that did not comply with the regulations. From the toll road performance side, the average speed on the Trans-Java Toll Road sections such as Jakarta-Semarang and vice versa was above 80 kilometres per hour. This condition indicates a category A service level with relatively stable travel times of around 5 hours 20 minutes during the outbound and return flow periods. Dudy revealed that based on a survey conducted by the Ministry of Transport, public movement was projected to reach 143.92 million people, but the realisation reached 147.55 million people, an increase of 2.53%. Overall, the Transport Minister continued, the total movement during the 2026 Lebaran Transport period reached 298.6 million movements with 147.55 million travellers. The peak outbound flow was recorded on H-3 or Wednesday, 18 March 2026, while the peak return flow occurred on H+7 or Saturday, 28 March 2026. Public movement was dominated from Java Island, particularly West Java, followed by East Java and Central Java as the main origins and destinations of travel. Previously, the government implemented the 2026 Lebaran and Nyepi WFA policy, namely on 16-17 March 2026 and 25-27 March 2026 (after Lebaran).