40.2 Million People Go Home With Private Vehicles, Ministry Of Transportation Reminds To Wear Masks In Cars

Inspection of travelers on the Kalikangkung toll road, Semarang during the 2021 Lebaran homecoming season. (Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Transportation (Kemnhub) emphasized that travelers who use four-wheeled vehicles or more must still wear masks when going home for Lebaran 2022. He asked travelers to continue to follow strict health protocols when going home.

This was conveyed by the Expert Staff of the Minister of Transportation for Communication, Thonthowi Djauhari when he was a speaker in a webinar about the 2022 Eid homecoming, Monday 25 April.

"In private vehicles, you still have to use them. Moreover, if the vehicle is fully loaded," said Thonthowi.

Understanding and awareness will determine a safe and healthy homecoming this year. Enforcement of health protocols is a challenge because there is no screening like when going home using public transportation.

When using an airplane, for example, travelers will be asked to use the PeduliLindung application and have the necessary documents checked, such as a vaccine certificate and a negative antigen or PCR test result.

This procedure does not exist when travelers use private cars.

Head of the Behavior Change Division of the COVID-19 Handling Task Force, Sonny Harry B Harmadi at the same event said that they held random checks for private vehicles at a number of homecoming points. If the travelers test results are positive, the travelers will be taken to a centralized isolation area in the area.

In addition to health protocols, the Ministry of Transportation also reminds prospective travelers with private vehicles to prepare their vehicles before traveling, including checking the condition of the tires and changing the oil.

"Before leaving, check the vehicle's worthiness," said Thonthowi, as reported by Antara.

This vehicle inspection is very important so as not to endanger travelers on the way.

Meanwhile, for travelers with two-wheeled vehicles, Thonthowi reminded that some types of motorbikes are not designed for long-distance travel. To stay safe, prospective travelers with motorbikes can register for the free homecoming program held by the government.

The government for the first time allowed going home during the Eid holiday after two years of being hit by a pandemic. The Ministry of Transportation estimates that 85.5 million Indonesians will go home this year.

Most of the people are estimated to go home by land using private vehicles, the number is estimated at 40.2 million people.