Counteracting Religious Holiday Congestion in Indonesia

This post from The City Fix looks at how holidays cause mass movements of people, especially Muslims in Indonesia, and what impact those movements can have on transportation systems.

1 minute read

March 4, 2011, 6:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


For Indonesia, the end of Ramadan is a national holiday, and causes major congestion. Some are trying to think about how to mitigate these problems.

"Similar to city-to-rural migration in China for the Spring Festival, the annual Muslim holiday in Indonesia is also a way to reinforce social ties and bring money from the city to the countryside. But given the growth of a city like Jakarta, it seems impossible for cities to deal with these mega-events.

John Ernst, the vice director of Southeast Asia for the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, whose work with ITDP has centered on TransJakarta, a bus rapid transit system of 10 lines that provides service to several intercity bus stations, shared some information on the government response to the holiday."

Thursday, February 24, 2011 in The City Fix

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