Homecoming tradition is an annual phenomenon in Indonesia that became the center of attention, especially in the use of transportation means. Every year people return to their hometowns to celebrate Eid on either private or public transport. The homecoming ritual cause further problems, namely congestion and accidents.
Coinciding with these issues, the Center for Transportation and Logistics Studies of Universitas Gadjah Mada organized a monthly seminar with the theme Social Overview to Achieving Zero Accident for Eid Homecoming Tradition on Wednesday (29/6). The keynote speakers of this event were Prof. Sunyoto Usman, PUSTRAL UGM researchers, Yogyakarta police officer and a team from the Department of Transportation.
In his presentation, entitled Social Dimensions of Non-Accident, Prof. Sunyoto reviewed the phenomenon of homecoming in Indonesia as well as policies that have been applied. According to the man, the problems that arise could not be handled technically alone, but also through the social sector. There are so many social aspects that could be used to handle homecoming problems. One of them is by conducting public transportation education to the society.
"Through transportation education, citizens are expected to understand the rules for using public transport, thereby reducing the number of accidents," Prof. Sunyoto said.
Additionally, Sunyoto Usman also said that the policy implemented by the government in dealing with homecoming is quite a successful one. To achieve zero accident and other transport issues, all stakeholders must work together for transport and traffic problems that could not be dealt with only by the transportation department and the police. Central and local governments as well as elements of society must participate in this annual issue.
Meanwhile, the representatives from the Transportation Department expressed that they need help from the public transportation owners so that the number of traffic accidents can be minimized.
At the end of the session, recommendations were generated to solve the issue. Further studies need to be conducted to solve the issue since transportation problem at Eid is very alarming. The result is expected to produce actions that can be applied in order to reduce the problems.