Bali Looks To Regulate Tourist Drivers With New Laws: How It Could Affect Your Trip

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The Bali Provincial Government has drafted a new law that aims to resolve a long-standing controversy regarding online taxi drivers on the island.

Over the last few years, tensions have been rising amongst Balinese and non-Balinese taxi drivers and those using online taxi apps to find passengers and those who operate directly with customers.

The longstanding tensions between Balinese and non-Balinese taxi drivers have finally found what many are hopeful will be a sustainable solution. Though the drafted policy is not without its controversy. While some feel it is a win for introducing standardisations in the taxi sector which could bring benefits to passengers across the board, others are concerned it is discriminatory against non-Balinese Indonesian workers in the province.

Over the last few years, Balinese taxi drivers and tour guiding drivers have been raising concerns that the market has been flooded by drivers who have come from other provinces in Indonesia for work. There have also been rising concerns that online taxi drivers are not sufficiently controlled or regulated and are capitalising on the local market.

Stakeholders in the ongoing issue are hopeful that the problem can been resolved through efforts from the Bali Regional People’s Representative Council (DPRD) and the Bali Provincial Government, which have created a Regional Regulation or Perda focusing on the Implementation of Application-Based Special Rental Transportation Services (ASK) for Tourism.

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The new draft legislation was signed off on 28th October and must now be heard by the central government. If pushed through the implications of the new laws will be felt by tourists in the coming months.

Amongst the changes could be adjustments to taxi tariffs for tourists traveling around the island. The Bali Tourism Driver Struggle Forum was also a key partners in monitoring the progress of the DPRD and Provincial Government meetings and the subsequent new legislation. 

The Bali Tourism Driver Struggle Forum (FPDP) has been calling on the authorities to better regulate the tourism taxi industry and online taxi marketplace. The protests launched by the FPDP in January 2025 were effective in initiating a dialogue. The union called on the government to establish a commitment to six very clear demands.

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The first was to establish a quota on the number of online taxi service providers allowed to be registered in the province; this goes for motorcycle and car taxis.

The second was for the government to operate stricter regulations when it comes to vehicle rentals for tourists, for both motorcycles and cars. The third was to establish a set of standard fares and rates for all taxi services. The fourth demand was a powerful demand to restrict taxi companies to only enable them to hire drivers with Balinese ID cards. 

The fifth demand urged the government to ensure that all tourist transport vehicles were locally licensed and DK-plated.  The sixth and final demand was to create a set of standardized criteria for tourist drivers coming to Bali from outside the province.

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The Coordinator of the Special Committee (pansus) for the Draft Regional Regulation on Special Rental Transportation (ASK), I Nyoman Suyasa, spoke to reporters to clarify how these new rules and regulations will be implemented and monitored. He shared that one of the regulations is that transportation companies are required to use the official Kreta Bali Smita label which has been in effect for more than two years.

Suyasa added, “Kreta Bali Smita is a program to standardize the suitability, comfort, and lifespan of tourist vehicles in Bali through a tourism transportation labeling application integrated with the Fleet Management System (FMS) and Vehicle Maintenance System (VMS) features.”

The program was first introduced to help improve and standardise the taxi sector to help create a more positive public image of taxi services in Bali to both locals and tourists.

The Deputy Governor of Bali, Nyoman Giri Prasta, told reporters separately that this new drafted regulation is not only a move to regulate the taxi industry in Bali, but also to better promote cultural tourism in the province. In the future, there will be a standardization of skills for tourism drivers who must be able to drive safely and have knowledge about Balinese cultural tourism. This will also apply to online taxi drivers working through apps like GoJek and Grab.

Deputy Governor Prasta shared, “Because of the orderliness in Bali, hopefully in the future it can become a role model for the unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia.”

The outcomes have been given the seal of approval by the FPDP. Made Darmayasa, as the Coordinator of the Bali Tourism Driver Struggle Forum, said he was very grateful to the DPRD Special Committee.

He shared, “We at the forum are very grateful and incredibly grateful to the special committee that has worked tirelessly to develop this draft regional regulation. The inspection will be regulated by a gubernatorial regulation.

“So, today, at the forum stage, we’ve obtained a regional regulation, the legal framework. The technical details on the ground will be regulated by a Bali gubernatorial regulation.”

He added, “This Bali gubernatorial regulation will have a task force, and the regulation also stipulates the participation of the community and driver associations. We are involved.” 

This article was originally published titled – Bali To Crack Down On Tour Guides And Tourist Drivers From Outside The Province – article has been updated for clarity.