INTERACTIVE: A peek into the balik kampung exodus

Motorists are caught in a traffic jam on the KL–Karak Expressway as families head back to their hometowns for Chinese New Year and the start of Ramadan. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

PETALING JAYA: Drive times from Kuala Lumpur to Johor Baru stretched to more than five hours at the peak of the Chinese New Year and Ramadan balik kampung exodus, according to checks on Google Maps.

The KL-Penang stretch took nearly five hours, while KL-Kota Baru via the East Coast Expressway (ECE) took seven hours and 33 minutes.

Travel times were recorded via Google Maps at two-hour intervals from Feb 13 to Feb 15 along four popular festive corridors — northbound to Penang, eastbound to Kota Baru via both the Central Spine Road and the ECE, and southbound to Johor Baru.

The data showed a clear pattern: departures between 10am and 4pm consistently recorded the longest travel times across all routes, while those who left after 8pm enjoyed noticeably shorter journeys.

Motorists who departed at 10pm instead of 10am saved between 45 minutes and nearly two hours, depending on the route.

 

 

 

 

The KL–Johor Baru stretch saw the greatest fluctuation.

The 320km journey peaked at five hours and 25 minutes for a 2pm departure on Feb 15, compared with just over three and a half hours for a late-night trip — a difference of nearly two hours.

The KL–Penang corridor also surged on Saturday morning, with the 313km journey stretching to nearly five hours against a fastest recorded time of around three and a half hours — roughly a 30% drop in average speed.

The longest journeys were recorded on the eastbound routes.

The KL–Kota Baru leg via the ECE peaked at seven hours and 33 minutes on Saturday morning, while the Central Spine Road route hit six hours and 53 minutes during the same period.