Suherdjoko, Semarang – People traveling to their hometowns for Idul Fitri during mudik (exodus) this year are expected to use a total of 27.32 million private cars and 25.13 million motorcycles, according to a study by the Transportation Policy Agency.
Separately, the government projects that 123.8 million people will travel for mudik.
Djoko Setijowarno, deputy chairman of the Indonesia Transportation Society (MTI), said that motorcycles remained an attractive option for travelers for reasons of cost and mobility.
"They will be able to move around in their hometowns easily, something that cannot be provided by public transportation and if they have no vehicles back [in their hometowns]," Djoko, a civil engineering expert at Soegijapranata University in Semarang, Central Java, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Djoko is calling on the government to completely ban people from using motorcycles to transport their children during mudik. "The government should not just issue suggestions, but rather forbid them," he said.
He said that a number of efforts had been made to dissuade motorcycle use during mudik, including by increasing public transportation capacity, improving road infrastructure and providing free mudik trips.
"But these efforts have so far been unable to reduce [the number of] motorcycle accidents," said Djoko.
Last year, 85 million people traveled for mudik, hitting the road with an estimated 23 million cars and 17 million motorcycles, according to projections at that time. Data from the Transportation Ministry show that only around 11 million mudik travelers used public transportation last year.
Separately, Central Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Ahmad Luthfi said the province expected to see 4.5 million homecoming travelers. "This year's mudik will return to pre-pandemic [levels]," he added.
The Central Java Police plan to set up 254 service and security posts and deploy a total of 20,339 police officers during the holiday season. (dre)