Police Will 'Throw' Vehicles From East Serang Toll Gate Into Arteries If Merak-Bakauheni Gets Badly Stuck During Eid Homecoming 2022

Illustration of the density of the volume of vehicles on the toll road during the Lebaran 2022 homecoming moment. (Antaranews)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) has predicted the two densest points during the 2022 Eid homecoming flow. The two points are from Bekasi to Semarang and the Merak-Bakauheni crossing.

Minister of Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi said that to break the density, his party gave it entirely to the Traffic Corps (Korlantas) of the Police. Budi said the Ministry of Transportation gave the Korlantas discretion to regulate these two points.

"The land sector is a crucial point in handling the smooth flow of going back and forth for Lebaran. Moreover, based on a survey conducted by Balitbanghub, about 47 percent of the 85.5 million people who are predicted to go home will use land routes, both private vehicles (cars and motorbikes) and land transportation (buses, crossing transportation, etc.)," said the Minister of Transportation in a written statement, quoted Monday, April 18.

The discretion in question is the application of traffic engineering both on the Bekasi route to Semarang and the Merak route to Bakauheni. The Korlantas Polri will implement a one-way, contra-flow, odd-even system, according to the density conditions in the field.

For the Bekasi to Semarang route, the Korlantas Polri, which has been given the discretion, has set a one way route along with the odd-even route along the Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road to the Kalikangkung Toll Gate, Semarang, Central Java.

The implementation of the one-way or odd-even period is for three days starting on April 28, or one day before the Lebaran joint leave set by the government. The policy is part of mitigating the density of homecoming vehicles, considering that the peak flow for Lebaran 2022 is predicted to occur on April 29-30.

The application of discretion to the Korlantas Polri for Bekasi to Semarang has been agreed in a Joint Decree (SKB) regarding Traffic Regulations during Lebaran Transportation in 2022 which was signed on Wednesday, April 13.

Meanwhile, for the Merak-Bakauheni route, discretion will adjust to the situation on the ground. The Minister of Transportation said that the Korlantas Polri could use various methods, ranging from traffic engineering to road diversions to prevent traffic congestion.

However, the Minister of Transportation ensured that traffic engineering on the Merak-Bakauheni route was not a detour or blocking like the Lebaran homecoming flow in previous years.

"Supervision and control are carried out in a humanistic and persuasive manner, because according to the President's directives, we will not conduct isolation and detours," said the Minister of Transportation.

Separately, Banten Police Traffic Deputy AKBP Alfaris Pattiwael said his party was ready to anticipate the Merak-Bakauheni congestion point by preparing traffic engineering to prevent overcrowding at the Merak Port gate.

Alfaris said that if there was congestion, the members would slow down the vehicle. Ditlantas Banten Police will remove vehicles from the East Serang Toll Gate into the arterial route.

"If there is a buildup of vehicles at the entrance to the Merak Port, the Banten Police Traffic Directorate will carry out limited engineering by slowing down the vehicle," said Alfaris in a press release.

In addition, Alfaris said that his party has prepared parking pockets both in rest areas and on arterial routes that can be used as a resting place for travelers on the Merak-Bakauheni route.