Kinanti Pinta Karana – Despite the safety perils of traveling long distances on motorbikes, many people returning to their hometowns from Indonesia's big cities this weekend for the annual 'mudik' exodus will shun buses and trains in favor of the two-wheeled people mover.

Bambang Susantono, the chairman of Indonesian Transportation Community (MTI), said on Tuesday that there were four main reasons why people prefer to travel by motorbikes when they return home to celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday at the end of Ramadan.

"The money bikers spend for gas is 40 to 50 percent cheaper than the cost of bus ticket," Bambang said. Secondly, traveling by motorbike is more flexible because bikers can decide when or where they will stop to rest. "If they travel by bus or train, they have to follow the schedule," he said.

A cultural factor is also at play. "People who work in big cities like Jakarta want to show their friends and family back home that they have made it and a motorbike is seen as a symbol of success," he said.

In small towns or villages, public transportation is scarce, and people who want to visit their friends and family around town need transportation, Bambang said.

The MTI have called on the police to be firm on law enforcement over the holiday season.

"Anyone who violates traffic regulation must be punished according to the law," Bambang said. "It will be a shock therapy and a lesson for other drivers." He added that tolerating traffic violations would only increase the risk of accidents.

"Everyone has to realize that once you are on the road, you are affecting other people's safety, so please drive safely," he said.