Indonesia’s Deputy Minister for Transportation has confirmed that a new water taxi service will be up and running by the end of 2025.
The new sea shuttle service will connect tourists directly from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport with the island’s top coastal resorts, such as Seminyak and Uluwatu.
Speaking to the media the Deputy Minister for Transportation, Dudy Purwagandhi, explained plans to roll out an ocean link that will enable tourists to avoid traffic congestion between the island’s only commercial airport, and their chosen vacation resort.
Minister Purwagandhi revealed that the program will be in operation by December 2025 and that its main objective is to help combat the island’s ever-worsening traffic congestion crisis.
He confirmed that the sea taxi service will connect tourists between I Gusti Ngurah Rai International to Kuta, Seminyak, and Uluwatu in the first instance.
Minister Purwagandhi told reporters “We have discussed. The Minister of Transportation plans to reduce congestion from the airport to Seminyak-Uluwatu. We will try to use the sea route.”
He added “And the Minister wants we can do it this December. So that people have other choices whether to take a car or take that (water taxi) from the airport.”
Minister Purwagandhi confirmed that teams from the Department of Transportation had conducted trials of the prospective routes using traditional jukung boats and that when the real program is launched motorized boats will be used.
The trials have shown that the travel time between Bali Airport and Seminyak, and from Bali Airport to Uluwatu is 35-40 minutes. Notably shorter than the drive time between these two destinations during peak traffic flow, and during the high season for tourism.
Minister Purwagandhi shared “Later we will see the situation. But before we tried to use jukung for about 35-40 minutes. But if later using the ship that we have set, it will take at most 25-30 minutes to reach Uluwatu.”
Bali Governor Wayan Koster has given his backing to the new program too. He told the media “It will help with sea transportation, because there is a traffic jam on land, it cannot be solved in a short time. Later [tourists] will be helped to use a water taxi.”
Earlier this year the Coordinating Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development (Menko Infras) Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono visited Bali to explore all available options for an ocean taxi system that connects top resorts directly with Bali Airport.
He wanted to create a public transport model that centered around Bali Airport and best served the island’s busiest tourism resorts.
He shared at the time that Bali needed to broaden its horizons in terms of public transport notions. He noted, “this intermodal is important, land of course, but we must focus more on public transportation, not private vehicles, but also water taxis.”
He also suggested that the ocean taxi system would one day connect tourists directly with Canggu too.
There are already a series of ocean taxi-style services in place in Bali. The Airport Ocean Taxi would be a public transportation service, and while tourists will have to wait until December 2025 to hop aboard, there are already options for avoiding traffic congestion between the island’s most in-demand resorts.
GoBoat, for example, has been operating an ocean taxi shuttle service between Canggu, and Jimbaran Uluwatu for over a year. Departures leave throughout the morning and afternoon and cut travel time down to just 40 minutes.
Another new ocean shuttle service was launched this month in the popular resort of Benoa. A new sea taxi service is connecting Tanjung Benoa, Serangan, and Pedungan. The service, known as the Bali Marine Water Taxi, is set to help better connect tourists to the ever-popular resort of Benoa, and to the emerging cultural tourism destinations Serangan, and Pedungan.
The Acting Executive Director of Pelindo, Johannes Wahyu, spoke to reporters at the launch of the new sea taxi service. Pelindo is a private company that has partnered with the Indonesian government to invest in and develop the Bali Maritime Tourism Hub.
Wayhu shared “With the Bali Marine Water Taxi program, it is expected to shorten the travel distance and experience for tourists who want to visit Tanjung Benoa, Serangan, and Pedungan.” He added “This program is a form of creating shared value between Pelindo and Tanjung Benoa. Pelindo will always be present for the Tanjung Benoa community.”
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cristof
Thursday 6th of March 2025
watertaxi to Seminyak? haha where do you get off the boat? On the beach? with your suitcases? First you have to build a smail port, then you have to hope that the waves/currents make it safe. All by December 2025? Someones living in cloud cuckoo land
Steve bm
Tuesday 4th of March 2025
Hahaha
Shorty
Tuesday 4th of March 2025
You have to get from the airport to the jetty/wharf. There will not be individual drop off at the hotels or destinations.
The above will also apply to return journeys. 4 thru till 10pm is the busiest time at Ngurah Rai You're buggered and just want to get to your hotel with a minimum of fuss. To be financially viable water taxis would need to work to a time table. There's bad seas, or it's pissing down with rain....
What's the carrying capacity of the vessels and the projected use?
I'd suggest it would have f*ck all meaningful effect on road congestion.
And a note of realism.
Why this focus on ease of movement for tourists? Sure some complain, but numbers show it's not a great inhibiting factor.
The bulk of the traffic is Balinese going about their everyday business.
The ability of Kadek, Putu who ever to go to work, the market, back to villages for upacara or pick their kids up from school is far more important.
Steve b
Thursday 6th of March 2025
@Thommo, my 2 girls aged 15 and 13 both ride short distances to their schools both aren't licenced my 6 year old gets dropped off by one ot them, As long as the parents authorize it the schools don't have a problem. I knows it's not the go in other countries but if you have had kids here you would problem be ok with it.
Thommo
Wednesday 5th of March 2025
@Shorty, agree wholeheartedly. But locals picking up the kids from school? Highlights another issue that's conveniently avoided by authorities. Kids over 10 in Bali/ Indo ride themselves to school on motorbikes, no helmet, no license. I see it everyday but it's not an issue for governance banjars or pecelang.
Rusty212
Tuesday 4th of March 2025
Unless they jump off the runway into the sea, this process will double the time to get to their resort.They will still rely on a transfer to their accommadation.This is nothing more than a PR stunt.
Thommo
Wednesday 5th of March 2025
@Rusty212, absolutely true. They come up with these ridiculous ideas for a moment of media exposure to justify their position. It would worsen the travel time do nothing for traffic congestion along with being dangerous and prone to constant cancellation. There's no infrastructure in place for it. Another grand final entry for stupid ideas. What happened to the subway talk and the flying taxis. Magic carpets are cheap.
Exp
Monday 3rd of March 2025
Sea-taxi with route along the southern beaches? I did a quick risk assessment and I have decided this is a hard pass for me.
In Sanur they finally built a sheltered harbour in a area with much less swells compared to the ones pounding the southern beaches. Without sheltered harbour there is no way this sea-taxi service could possibly provide safe on/off boarding and at the same time provide daily reliable service.
Thommo
Wednesday 5th of March 2025
@Exp, no berthing/boarding infrastructure. A hostile coast relative to significant swells and tides. No protection, Inclement weather, nasty sea squalls and an appalling safety record/standards. What another laughable suggestion from the masters of dumb ideas. There are no protected or semi protected areas of coast on the Uluwatu to Tanah Lot ( and beyond). Any credible feasibility study would ridicule this idea after an hour of consideration. Yet these muppets in governance predicate this as a supportive solution to traffic congestion. More feasible on the Sanur/Benoa/Serangan/Nusa Dua side. As it has more protection. But blind Freddy can attest to sea taxis in Bali being an unmitigated disaster that would have no impact in helping the chaos and disastrous traffic congestion,