Minister of Transportation: Yogyakarta is the fourth destination for Lebaran holidays, with a projection of 8.2 million movements

ILLUSTRATION BETWEEN

JAKARTA - Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi said that the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY) became the fourth destination province during the 2026 Lebaran/Idul Fitri 1447 Hijriah holiday with a projection of 8.2 million people making movements during the momentum period.

"DIY Province occupies the fourth position as the national favorite destination province during the 2026 Lebaran holiday. According to the survey, 8.2 million people are predicted to travel in this region," said the Minister of Transportation as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, February 19.

The Minister of Transportation emphasized the importance of preparing all aspects, especially those related to transportation facilities and infrastructure, so that people's movement to and from DIY can run safely, smoothly, comfortably and under control.

Responding to this, the Minister of Transportation met directly with the Deputy Governor of DIY Kanjeng Gusti Paku Alam X at the DIY Governor's Office.

The meeting was held as an effort to coordinate between the central and regional governments, because DIY is one of the main destinations for community movement during the Lebaran holiday, both for homecoming and tourism.

He said the increase in vehicle traffic and intermodal mobility in this region requires planned and coordinated readiness.

"Therefore, through this meeting, we want to ensure that all operational aspects, traffic control, and transportation services can be prepared in an integrated manner before the holiday period," he said.

A number of transportation nodes in the Yogyakarta area are also predicted to be the most crowded during the Lebaran holiday this year.

Tugu Yogyakarta Station ranked first as the busiest destination station with a predicted number of passengers of 867 thousand people, followed by Lempuyangan Station with a predicted number of passengers of 551 thousand passengers.

Meanwhile, YIA Airport ranked fourth as the busiest destination airport with a predicted number of passengers of 513 thousand people.

The Minister of Transportation also conveyed that the Ministry of Transportation for the 2026 Lebaran transportation would again hold a free homecoming program to help the public to be able to make a safe and comfortable homecoming trip, and to reduce the use of private vehicles which have the potential to cause traffic congestion.

"In this context, DIY is one of the destination areas served by the program," said the Minister of Transportation.

Then the Ministry of Transportation provided 401 bus units to transport 15,834 passengers and 8 truck units to transport 240 motorcycles during the homecoming period from March 16-18, 2026 and the return flow from March 24-25, 2026.

"Giwangan Terminal (in Yogyakarta) is one of the departure locations for trucks during the return flow," he explained.

In addition, for the train mode, the Ministry of Transportation provides seats for 28,182 passengers and 11,900 motorbikes during the homecoming period from March 13-19, 2026 and the return flow from March 24-30, 2026, serving the north, middle and south crossings.

Lempuyangan Station is the destination station on the central and southern lines in the free motor transport program.

Dudy hopes that the Yogyakarta Provincial Government can provide support in terms of providing easy access for travelers to access transportation nodes such as terminals, stations, to airports, as well as feeder transport services at free homecoming locations.

He also discussed the operation of the Prambanan-Purwomartani functional toll road to support the smooth flow of homecoming, especially those heading to DIY.

According to him, the Purwomartani Toll Exit will be the final point, so it has the potential to become a meeting point for vehicle traffic from the toll road to the national road network and arteries.

With such conditions, continued Dudy, there is a potential for vehicle congestion and density, especially at the peak of the homecoming and return flow. Therefore, it is necessary to intensively monitor traffic, traffic engineering around the toll, coordination between Korlantas, Dishub and Toll Road Manager.

"As well as the placement of personnel and supporting facilities in the field," said the Minister of Transportation.

Then, the Minister of Transportation asked the DIY Provincial Government to anticipate congestion caused by overflowing markets at a number of points, such as Bendungan Market, Mangiran Srandakan Market, and Demangan Market.

Anticipation also needs to be carried out at a number of tourist locations, such as Malioboro, Kaliurang, Parangtritis, Baron Beach, and several other points.

Next, the Minister of Transportation also discussed the crossing of a piece of land and the distribution of disaster-prone points in the DIY region.

He said that currently, additional track guards and coordination with the DIY Provincial Government and related parties have been carried out to handle disasters, such as floods, landslides, and areas prone to Mount Merapi.

He said that in Yogyakarta there were 46 crossing points, of which 8 guards had been added to increase surveillance.

"Although the number of crossings per piece in this area is relatively small, it is still necessary to be extra vigilant to anticipate a surge in vehicles during the Lebaran holiday," said the Minister of Transportation.