Liputan6.com, Jakarta - 123 million people in Indonesia are predicted to join the annual Eid holiday exodus (locally known as mudik) this year, according to the Ministry of Transportation. Last year, 85 million people went back to their hometowns for mudik.
Mudik is an annual trip for Indonesian Muslims to celebrate the Eid season with their families after Ramadan is over.
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The mudik in 2023 will be the first in which people can travel with more ease since the pandemic in 2020. Last week, Minister for Transportation Budi Karya Sumadi have reported the potential increase to President Joko Widodo.
"We reported that there is an increase of our brothers and sisters who are going to mudik from 85 million to 123 million," said Minister Budi Karya Sumadi at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Friday (24/3/2023).
According to the Cabinet Secretariat, Minister Budi also "have collaborated with the Indonesian National Police and Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture on how to manage the exodus season".
The Ministry of Transportation has opened the free mudik program, but the minister also expects the private sectors to give promos for the travellers.
“I hope other ministries and private sectors will also provide free exodus tickets, at least for their own personnel,” he said.
Indonesians travel through land, sea, and air during mudik season. Some men even dare to use motorcycles to travel hundreds of miles away alongside their wives and kids.
Recently, Minister Budi has given a stark warning for the airlines not to hike the prices in this mudik season. He also ensured the sea transportation from Merak port in Banten province to Bakauheni port in Lampung province will receive more attention.
“The National Police Chief has ordered the operation of several other ports, such as those in Indah Kiat and Bakau Jaya so the departure point is not only in Merak, but also in those ports,” he said.
One Million Train Tickets Sold
The national train company Kereta Api Indonesia announced on Monday that over a million tickets have been sold during mudik season. It is equivalent to 39.5 percent avalaible tickets.
Most passengers are coming from Jakarta or Bandung toward Middle Java and East Java.
The ticket sales in Pasar Senen station in Jakarta to Pasarturi station in Surabaya have been sold out. The current data shows 67 percent of travellers will depart on 20 April 2023.
Trains are the convenient transportation method for the Jakartans whose families live in Javanese provinces. However, other islands do not have the same train quality.
Those who came from Sumatera will need to use air transportation. Alternatively, they will have to cross the Sunda Strait with boats, and then resume their journey on land.
As for other Jakartan workers or students who come from Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and other islands will find the air transportation to be the most convenient during mudik.
Septian Deny contributed to this report.
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