National Transportation Day in Indonesia Date in the current year: September 17, 2024

Indonesia is the largest archipelagic state in the world; it consists of more than 17,000 islands. The island of Java is home to more than half of the country’s population, but the rest of the population is scattered among almost a thousand permanently inhabited islands. Due to this, the transportation system of Indonesia is crucial to its territorial and economic integrity.

Indonesia’s transportation system includes all modes of transport; they generally complement each other rather than compete with each other. Water transport is essential to linking different parts of the country. The national cargo and passenger shipping company of Indonesia is Pelni. Its service network spans across the entire archipelago, providing the least expensive way to travel to remote islands. When traveling between nearby islands, one can take a ferry or a privately run boat.

Air transport plays also plays a significant role in connecting the islands of the Indonesian Archipelago, particularly those of them that cannot be easily reached by water transport. Indonesia has almost 700 airports, ranging from international airports in major cities to unpaved airstrips on remote islands, and more than 60 commercial airlines. Its aviation industry is one of the fastest-growing in the world.

Indonesia also has almost 550,000 kilometers of roads. The intercity bus service connects cities within an island and on neighboring islands connected through ferry crossings. Major cities have bus rapid transit systems. In more remote areas, minibuses are the primary form of transportation. Many cities also have taxis and auto rickshaws. Railways are primarily located on Java and Sumatra. They are used for both passenger and freight transport.

Before the establishment of National Transportation Day, all government agencies and state-owned enterprises in the country’s transportation sector had their respective anniversaries which fell relatively close to each other. Frans Seda, who served as the minister of transportation from 1968 to 1973, felt that this was inefficient in terms of time and cost, and decided to combine all anniversaries in the transportation sector into single National Transportation Day. The first celebration of the new holiday took place on September 17, 1971.

The main goal of National Transportation Day is to bring together the Ministry of Transportation, regional governments, and other stakeholders in the transportation sector in order to facilitate their collaboration and encourage innovation. According to the decree establishing National Transportation Day, all stakeholders must work together smoothly to ensure that Indonesia’s transportation system meets five main criteria outlined by the Ministry of Transportation: low cost, safety, speed, convenience, and punctuality.