Gov’t Anticipates Public Mobility Surge of 119.5 Million People During 2025–2026 Christmas, New Year Period

Atmosphere of the Plenary Cabinet Meeting chaired by President Prabowo Subianto at the State Palace, Jakarta, Monday (12/15). (Photo by: BPMI of Presidential Secretariat/Laily Rachev)

The Government projects a surge in public mobility during the 2025 Christmas and 2026 New Year period and has prepared various anticipatory measures to ensure smooth and safe travel, according to Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi.

Based on the results of a survey on potential public mobility during the Christmas and New Year period, the Minister stated that the mobility is expected to rise compared to the previous year and involve nearly half of Indonesia’s population. The projected surge serves as the basis for strengthening national transportation services.

“The survey results indicate that 42.01 percent of Indonesia’s population, or approximately 119.5 million people, plan to travel at the end of the year, representing a 2.71 percent increase compared to the previous year,” the Minister said during the Plenary Cabinet Meeting chaired by President Prabowo Subianto at the State Palace, Jakarta, Monday (15/12).

The Minister explained that the highest volume of passenger mobility is expected to originate from densely populated provinces on the island of Java, with destinations largely concentrated in the same regions.

Nevertheless, the Government will continue to conduct comprehensive monitoring to ensure the smooth implementation of transportation services.

“Central Java is expected to record the highest number of travelers reaching 20.23 million people, followed by East Java and West Java. Although not included among the top ten regions in the survey results, we will continue to closely monitor areas that observe Christmas celebrations, such as Maluku, Papua, and West Kalimantan,” the Minister said.

In terms of transportation modes, private vehicles remain the dominant choice for year-end travel, followed by other modes of transport.

To support people’s mobility, he added, the Government has prepared transportation facilities and infrastructure across land, sea, air, rail, and ferry services.

“For land transportation, we have prepared 31,433 buses; 711 vessels for sea transportation; 2,670 train services for rail transportation; 368 aircrafts for air transportation; and 253 ferry vessels for ferry transportation,” he said.

The Minister of Transportation also highlighted that the Government is providing stimulus measures in the form of fare and ticket discounts to ease the public’s burden during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, which is being implemented through coordination among ministries and State-owned Enterprises.

“The stimulus includes a 20 percent toll tariff discount on 26 toll road sections on December 22, 23, and 31. By comparison, in 2024, only a 10 percent discount was applied to 12 toll road sections,” he explained, adding that the air transportation stimulus includes a 13 to 14 percent ticket discount for the travel period from December 22 to January 10, 2026.

On that occasion, the Minister underscored two strategic issues that will be the main focus of transportation management during the 2025–2026 Christmas and New Year period, namely the potential surge in passenger numbers and the risk of extreme weather.

“There are two strategic issues related to transportation during the 2025–2026 Christmas and New Year period: the potential surge in passenger volume, which may lead to congestion at transportation hubs, and the risk of extreme weather, which, according to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), is expected to result in high rainfall from December 2025 to January 2026,” the Minister remarked. (BPMI of Presidential Secretariat) (RIF/MUR)