Jakarta (ANTARA) - The number of Eid travelers' vehicles returning to Jakarta and its surrounding areas through four main toll gates (GT) from April 10 to 18 is predicted to reach 1.87 million.

President director of state toll road operator Jasa Marga, Subakti Syukur, said on Thursday that the figure would mark an increase of 56.2 percent from the normal traffic volume of 1.2 million vehicles for nine days.

This is a cumulative number of vehicles through GT Cikupa from Merak, GT Ciawi from Puncak, GT Cikampek Utama from Trans Java, and GT Kalihurip Utama from Bandung.

The majority of vehicles are expected to come from the Trans Java and Bandung toll roads. The most anticipated location is KM 66 of the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road, a meeting point for vehicles traveling to Jakarta from both directions.

"In the predicted return flow peak, the increase in traffic volume at this point will reach 247.3 percent compared to normal," Syukur said.

The flow of returning traffic will be from three directions, with 1.06 million vehicles (56.9 percent) coming from Trans Java and Bandung, 461,000 vehicles (24.7 percent) from Merak, and 344,000 vehicles (18.4 percent) from Puncak, he added.

Jasa Marga has predicted that the peak of the Eid return flow will occur on D+4 of Eid, or April 15, with the number of vehicles at the four GTs reaching 296,000.

This number would reflect an increase of 11.7 percent compared to the peak of the 2023 Eid return flow (265,000) and would be 127.8 percent higher compared to normal (130,000).

Syukur said that Jasa Marga has prepared a number of anticipatory backflow services based on the results of its evaluation of homecoming flow services to improve services to ensure smooth, comfortable, and safe travel for road users.

Given the shorter return flow time, Jasa Marga needs to distribute the return flow once the traffic starts to swell from D+2 to D+4, or April 13–15, he said.

The company urges the public to travel back to Jabotabek sooner than the peak flow, or later for those who have free time.

"There will be a 20-percent discount on toll rates for the return flow period starting on April 17–19 for fares for the Trans Java Toll Road from Semarang to Jakarta, only from GT Kalikangkung to GT Cikampek Utama," he added.

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Translator: Aji Cakti, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Anton Santoso
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