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THE MINISTRY of Transportation anticipates that the total number of people traveling during the Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 periods will reach 119.5 million. According to the latest projections, 60.53 million people are expected to fully utilize the 2025/2026 Christmas holiday season.
According to the Minister of Transportation, Dudy Purwagandhi sai it is estimated that as many as 38.8 million people will start traveling during the 2026 New Year holidays. Meanwhile, the total number of trips during the 2025 Christmas holidays is projected to be 20.17 million people.
“Private cars represent the most popular transportation mode, with 42.78% of respondents reporting their use. This mode is used by 51.12 million people. This achievement is followed by motorbikes at 18.41% of the projected number of people who travel,” said Dudy in Central Jakarta, Friday (12/05), 2025.
In other words, the total number of people using private vehicles during Christmas 2025/2026 is more than 61%. Meanwhile, public transportation use during Christmas 2025/2026 is projected to be approximately 12%.
According to the latest projections, 8.17% of people are expected to use buses, rental cars, or travel cars. Meanwhile, the number of airplane users is estimated at 4.27 million, long-distance train users at 3.94 million, ferry passengers at around 3.75 million, and ship users at 2.62 million.
Dudy stated that land travel on the island of Java would be a primary concern for the government. This is due to the fact that the majority of private vehicle users, particularly motorbikes, will travel in Java.
Additionally, Dudy noted that the likelihood of accidents would rise as weather forecasts by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency deteriorated at the end of this month. The BMKG has issued a warning regarding the potential for heavy rainfall in certain regions, including parts of Banten, western West Java, southern South Sulawesi, and southern Papua. These areas are expected to experience rainfall levels of more than 300 millimeters per second.
“We remind users of all transportation facilities and operators to pay close attention to weather conditions during the Christmas season of 2025/2026,” he said.
Dudy’s calculations indicate that the total number of vehicles departing the DKI Jakarta area during the Christmas season of 2025/2026 will reach 2.9 million units. The majority of vehicles, amounting to 1.3 million, are expected to depart from Jakarta in an eastward direction, utilizing the Trans Java Toll Road.
Meanwhile, the number of vehicles heading west from Jakarta to Sumatra Island during Christmas 2025/2026 is predicted to reach 818,000 units. Finally, the total number of vehicles heading south towards Bogor and Sukabumi was around 670,000 units.
Dudy has identified four areas of expected congestion during the Christmas season of 2025/2026: the Bogor-Ciawi-Sukabumi toll road, a series of toll roads in Central Java, Merak Port, and Ketapang Port.
“We anticipate that locations will become tourist destinations during Christmas 2025/2026. These are the points where we predict congestion will occur at the end of this month,” he affirmed.
Dudy has stated that the number of visits to several ferry ports will increase. These ports include North Sumatra, North Sulawesi, South Sulawesi, Maluku, Papua, and the Nusa Tenggara region. Dudy has stated that the province is anticipating a significant increase in traffic during the Christmas season of 2025.
Dudi assesses that the flood and landslide disasters in North Sumatra will reduce the number of movements during Christmas 2025/2026. However, Dudi plans to continue preparing a travel surge strategy in the province during Christmas 2025, especially in the Lake Toba area.
As is known, Lake Toba stretches across seven districts: Toba Regency, Samosir Regency, Simalungun Regency, Karo Regency, Dairi Regency, Humbang Hasundutan Regency, and North Tapanuli Regency.
“We project that movement around Lake Toba will be quite high during Christmas 2025/2026. We are still anticipating a surge in movement in the area, even with all the limitations after the disaster,” he concluded. [sources/photo special]
