PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk (JSMR) predicts that 2.88 million vehicles will leave Jakarta during the 2023-2024 Christmas and New Year (Nataru) holiday period, an 18% increase from normal traffic.
According to Jasa Marga's Corporate Communication and Community Development Group Head, Lisye Octaviana, the peak exodus period this year will last 18 days, from December 18, 2023, to January 4, 2024.
According to Lisye, millions of vehicles will leave Jakarta through four main toll gates: Cikupa Merak Toll Gate (GT), Ciawi GT, Kalitama Bandung GT, and Cikatama Trans Jawa GT.
The breakdown is as follows: 892,370 vehicles are predicted to leave Jakarta via Cikupa Merak GT (up 6.6% compared to normal traffic), followed by 708,824 vehicles via Cikatama Trans Jawa GT (up 40.9%).
Another 645,721 vehicles will pass through Ciawi GT (up 3.8%), and 637,680 vehicles through Kalitama Bandung GT (up 16.1%).
Simultaneously, Lisye estimates that 2.89 million vehicles will enter Jakarta through these four main toll gates, a 14.1% increase compared to normal traffic volume.
"(Vehicles entering Jakarta) will be mostly distributed to the east, at 47%," said Lisye.
Previously, the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) also predicted that 107.63 million people would travel during the 2023-2024 Nataru holiday.
Kemenhub's Special Staff, Adita Irawati, said this number is up 143% compared to Nataru travelers last year, which numbered 44.17 million people.
Kemenhub's survey also found that the main reason people are traveling during this year's Nataru holiday is for leisure trips to tourist destinations (45.29%).
Others are going home for the holidays (30.15%), celebrating Nataru in their hometowns (18.98%), traveling for work/assignments (2.42%), and other reasons (3.16%).