MORE THAN 1.4M CARS TO LEAVE JAKARTA DURING IDUL FITRI EXODUS: JASA MARGA

State-owned toll operator PT Jasa Marga predicts that more than 1.4 million cars will leave Jakarta through toll roads during the Idul Fitri mudik (exodus) starting this weekend, or a 3.6 percent increase from last year.

Idul Fitri is expected to fall on June 15 and 16.

“Jasa Marga believe that 1.442 million cars will exit Jakarta eight days to one day before Idul Fitri,” Jasa Marga operational director Muhammad Sofyan said on Wednesday as reported by kompas.com.

He said more than half, or some 772,549 cars, would pass through the Jakarta-Cikampek route by the Cikarang Utama toll gate in Bekasi, West Java, a 2.86 percent increase from last year’s 751,100 cars.

Meanwhile, 253,858 vehicles, a 10.5 percent increase from last year’s 230,455, is expected to pass through the Jagorawi toll road.

Peak traffic is predicted to start on Saturday, Sofyan said.

Previously, the Jakarta Police predicted peak traffic to start on Friday and last for three days.

Travelers are then expected to return to Jakarta in two waves, on the fourth day and the eighth day after Idul Fitri. The total number of cars going into the capital on these days is predicted to reach 1.52 million, compared to last year’s 1.478 million.

Travelers have been advised to use public transportation for this year’s mudik. The Kalideres bus terminal in West Jakarta is offering parking spaces to car owners who wish to leave their vehicles behind in the city.