Unraveling Yogyakarta Congestion During Christmas And New Year 2025, Transportation Agency Takes Advantage Of Red Light In Time

Tourists riding a rickshaw pass in the Malioboro area, Yogyakarta, Monday 23 December 2024. (ANTARA PHOTO-Hendra Nurdiyansyah)

YOGYAKARTA - The Yogyakarta City Transportation Agency (Dishub) utilizes Area Traffic Control System (ATCS) technology to unravel congestion that has the potential to occur in this city center during the 2024 Christmas and 2025 New Year holidays.

"There are 38 intersections that intersect (traffic lights) that have been managed based on information technology (ATCS or red light to change the duration)," said Head of the Yogyakarta City Transportation Agency Agus Arif Nugroho in his statement, Tuesday, December 24, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to Agus, the increase in vehicle flow is predicted to be quite high in the city of Yogyakarta starting 24, 30 and 31 December 2024.

The increase in vehicle flow on December 24, he said, occurred around places of worship for Christmas mass, such as at the Kotabaru Church on Jalan AM Sangaji and the Kidul Loji Church on Jalan Senopati.

The Yogyakarta Transportation Agency, according to Agus, has monitored the increase in people heading to Yogyakarta, especially those using public transportation modes such as trains and buses.

Meanwhile, on New Year's Eve 2025, the increase in vehicle flow is expected to occur in the Malioboro area, Kilometer Zero Point, Yogyakarta Monument area, Klasingan, Kridosono, Hayam Wuruk Street, Dr Soetomo Street, and several other roads.

He said the Tugu, Malioboro, and Yogyakarta Palace (Gumaton) areas are usually favorite places for tourists to enjoy New Year's Eve.

"We mapped out the points that are the destination areas of the community. The majority are in the Gumaton area so we will make efforts to drain vehicles and avoid being stuck (currently immovable)," he said.

Supported by the ATCS system, Agus said that his party can monitor traffic conditions through CCTV cameras and adjust the duration of traffic lights to break down vehicle current density.

He said the police also made it possible to implement an open-close system on several roads to unravel the flow, such as at the intersections of four Tugu, Klasingan, Kridosono, Demangan, Pojok, East and West Beteng as entrances to the Yogyakarta City area.

"The open and close system is very situational because it sees the flow of vehicle traffic," he said.

A number of facilities for traffic regulation such as "water barrier" and a portable directional board are confirmed to have been installed at several points.

Head of Traffic Division of Yogyakarta City Transportation Agency Agus Noto Sutrisno said that of the total 58 intersections in Yogyakarta City, 38 of them had been installed by ATCS.

According to him, ATCS technology is very reliable for traffic management arrangements because nearly 90 percent of traffic density in the city of Yogyakarta is based on intersections and an intersimal distance of about 500 meters.

"During the Nataru holiday period, the change in duration (ATCS traffic light) is situational. If there is a problem at the intersection, intervention is carried out to increase green time in the arm of the intersection which has increased the flow of vehicles and long queues occur," said Agus Noto.

He said a number of intersections that experienced an increase in traffic flow during the Christmas and New Year holidays usually occurred in the central corridor, namely from the Attack intersection, PKU Muhammadiyah, Zero Kilometer Point, Gondomanan to the Permata intersection.

The increase in traffic flow, according to him, was partly due to the emergence of tourism buses accessing the area and the tendency to occur in the afternoon.