Annual Urban Exodus, the Rare Event in the World

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Every time prior to Eid Fitr, celebrated in the first date of Syawal month according to the lunar calendar (this year it will be on September 11^th), Jakarta becomes deserted for around one week before and after the holiday. More than 7 million people from Jakarta and the surroundings (Jabotabek) almost simultaneously go out to their native homes and villages in East and Central Java. They travel by means of public transportations, cars, and motorcycles. Some who are going out of Java use liners and airplanes as modes of transportations.

Such huge movement of people going out from one place almost at the same time causes great consternation for government, mainly Ministry of Transportation and the police related to the availability for sufficient transportation modes, the transport safety along the roads, and management of the traffic jam during the peak days before the Eid Fitr.

The police will make sure that those who want to go home riding motorcycles strictly follow the regulation restricting to carry two persons maximum, not the family with children. Any violation of this regulation will be fined Rp250,000 (around $30) or put for one month in jail.

The number of police personnel handling the security and road safety are around 80,000 spread out in various regional districts. Based on annual data the road accidents that happened during the outflow were more than one thousand motorcycle accidents, one-third of which were fatal casualties.

Most of the travelers stay in their destinations around one week as permission to leave from their employer or office allows. During their stay at home, they celebrate Eid Fitr and going door to door to meet their neighboring relatives and friends.

About half a million domestic servants, who are among the travelers, are staying in their villages for around one month to take the rest after working hard for the whole year through. After that, they come back to their jobs living with the families who give them the jobs. Families in Jakarta prefer to seasonal housemaids who are willing to work a relatively long time to do almost all the household works starting from around 04.00 in the morning up to dinner time with relatively modest wages.