Jakarta – A public opinion survey conducted by Indikator Politik Indonesia has found that an overwhelming majority of respondents were satisfied with the National Police in managing mudik (exodus) traffic over Idul Fitri this year.
The Jakarta-based pollster found that 86.5 of the respondents interviewed thought that the police force had been helpful in easing the flow of traffic before and after the holiday.
"This year, the level of satisfaction is, in fact, higher," Indikator Politik researcher Bawono Kumoro said in a statement on Wednesday.
The telephone survey involved 1,217 respondents who were interviewed over three days from April 24 to 26, and has a margin of error of 2.9 percent.
The survey results showed that 83 percent of respondents approved the police's decision to implement the counterflow policy to allow traffic to flow in a single direction along the Trans-Java Toll Road during the busiest travel days over Idul Fitri.
The policy has been blamed for a number of traffic accidents during Idul Fitri this year, the deadliest involving a minivan and an intercity bus on the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road on April 9, which killed 12 people.
Poor traffic management was also blamed for a bottleneck that formed at Merak Port in Cilegon, Banten, the main access point for ferry crossings between Java and Sumatra.