Government Ensures Public Transportation Is Ready to Serve the Community During the Christmas and New Year Period
By: Fajriani Lula )*
The government has ensured comprehensive readiness of the public transportation sector to serve community mobility during the 2025/2026 Christmas and New Year (Nataru) period.
With the potential for a significant surge in travel movements across Indonesia, the state is prioritizing safety, comfort, and smooth travel through cross-ministerial coordination, collaboration with regional governments, and close cooperation with transportation operators.
Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi explained that the government has prepared more than 35,000 transportation units across multiple modes to operate during the Nataru period. These fleets include land, sea, air, rail, and ferry transportation spread throughout Indonesia.
According to Dudy, this level of readiness is the result of layered planning and supervision carried out by the government to ensure that all transportation facilities and infrastructure function optimally in serving the public.
Land transportation readiness is supported by tens of thousands of buses and hundreds of terminals, while sea transportation is backed by hundreds of passenger vessels as well as patrol and navigation ships. In the aviation sector, hundreds of aircraft and airports have been prepared to accommodate increased passenger volumes, while railway services are strengthened with thousands of train sets operating across networks in Sumatra, Java, and Sulawesi.
For ferry services, the government has reinforced fleets and infrastructure on heavily trafficked routes that have long been critical points of movement during the Nataru period.
Dudy emphasized that this readiness is not only quantitative in nature, but also supported by strict supervision of safety aspects. Tens of thousands of land transportation vehicles have undergone roadworthiness inspections, hundreds of sea vessels have been declared fit for operation, aircraft have been prepared in accordance with safety standards, and thousands of railway facilities have met technical requirements.
These inspections continue to be conducted up to the peak of the Nataru period to ensure that there is no compromise on passenger safety.
In addition to fleet readiness, the government has also prepared an operational policy framework to support smooth Nataru transportation services. A number of policies have been issued as operational guidelines, including regulations on freight transport, the implementation of e-ticketing for passenger vessels, the establishment of integrated command posts, and the provision of incentives for state-owned enterprises in the transportation sector.
The government is also encouraging a more even distribution of travel flows through fare discount policies across various transportation modes, which are expected to reduce congestion at certain times and locations.
Based on a potential movement survey conducted by the Ministry of Transportation, tourist destinations remain the primary travel objective for the public during the Nataru period. The city of Yogyakarta is projected to be the most popular national destination, followed by several other regions known as centers of cultural tourism, natural attractions, and family recreation.
Regionally, Java Island is expected to remain the largest travel destination, while outside Java, several provinces are also experiencing a significant increase in travel interest. The government is using this data as the basis for adjusting transportation operations at various strategic nodes.
At the regional level, the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta has taken an active role in ensuring the readiness of Nataru transportation services, considering that Jakarta is one of the largest sources of outbound travel.
The Governor of DKI Jakarta, Pramono Anung, conducted a direct inspection of transportation service readiness at the Pulo Gebang Integrated Terminal and ensured that all facilities and transportation services were prepared to handle the surge in passengers. He assessed that the readiness of facilities, infrastructure, and services is key to ensuring that the public can enjoy safe and comfortable travel.
Pramono also observed a significant increase in passenger numbers ahead of the long holiday period. The regional government predicts a sharp daily surge in passengers, prompting anticipatory measures to prevent excessive congestion and ensure that passenger flows remain under control. Passenger safety and security are the main focus in managing transportation during the Nataru period.
To support this effort, the Head of the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo, explained that his office has prepared four main terminals as Nataru service hubs, as well as added three auxiliary terminals to anticipate passenger surges.
In addition, the DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency has conducted comprehensive health checks for all bus drivers, both primary and backup drivers, including medical examinations and drug-free tests. This measure was taken as a preventive effort to reduce the risk of accidents during long-distance travel.
Vehicle roadworthiness inspections, or ramp checks, have also been carried out intensively at major terminals well in advance and throughout the Nataru period. The DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency ensures that only vehicles meeting safety standards are allowed to operate.
Supporting facilities at terminals, such as toilets, canteens, waiting rooms, children’s play areas, and reading rooms, have also been ensured to be in proper condition to enhance passenger comfort.
Amid the potential for extreme weather, the central and regional governments have strengthened coordination with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) for risk mitigation. Preparedness is implemented through the deployment of personnel and equipment at vulnerable points, strengthened supervision of transportation modes, and the management of local phenomena such as roadside markets and crowded tourist areas.
All of these measures are taken to ensure that community travel during the Nataru period proceeds safely and orderly.
With planned and coordinated readiness from the central to regional governments, the public transportation sector is expected to serve the community optimally during the Christmas and New Year period. This comprehensive approach underscores the state’s commitment to being present and working to ensure that public mobility remains safe, comfortable, and smooth at the end-of-year momentum.
*) Social Policy Observer
