Bali’s water taxi initiative has been on the cards for some time, but the major development project looks like it’s about to really get moving.
With Bali’s issues with traffic congestion getting increasingly worse, leaders in the province have been seeking novel solutions to help keep both local residents and tourists moving with ease. One solution has received near-unanimous support: make use of the island’s surrounding waters for transportation.
Water taxis and fast boats have been around in Bali for a very long time. Fast boats have been the go-to option for tourists traveling to the Nusa Islands, Gili Islands, and Lombok for decades.
More recently, companies like GoBoat have created water taxi routes connecting major tourism resorts in Bali by water, like Canggu and Uluwatu.
As Bali’s long-standing issues with traffic congestion get progressively worse, and with road network upgrades potentially going to take years to construct, the only ‘quick’ fix is to make use of Bali’s surrounding waters to help create a network of water taxis to help shuttle tourists around the island, in turn reducing the amount of tourist traffic on the roads.
The first route that leaders want to open up is between Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and the rapidly growing tourism resort of Canggu.
Indonesia’s Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi has confirmed that the project will receive an initial investment of IDR 1.2 trillion and is set to begin operations this year.
Speaking during a working meeting for the project on Wednesday, 8th April, Minister Purwagandhi shared, “Water taxis are an alternative solution for integrating land, sea, and air transportation to reduce traffic congestion in Bali Province, especially in Badung Regency.”
He added, “Water taxis can connect I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport with the Canggu tourist area as an efficient, environmentally friendly mobility option that supports Bali’s tourism sector.”
Noting “Based on field observations, the land travel time from Ngurah Rai Airport to Canggu is one to two hours, while by water taxi it is expected to only take around 30 minutes.”
According to Minister Purwagandhi, the investment budget required to develop water taxis in Bali is IDR 1.21 trillion. “The estimated budget required for the initial investment component is IDR 1.21 trillion. To ensure safety and security in these extreme waters, a layout with wave breakwaters is required.”
While getting the new water taxi network up and running is pretty straightforward, there are investments and infrastructure upgrades that need to be made.
He confirmed that the project is still currently in the technical planning stage. PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry is preparing a Detailed Engineering Design (DED) study to serve as a basis for construction.
Minister Purwagandhi explained, “Currently, PT ASDP is in the process of preparing a Detailed Engineering Design study, while construction work is planned to begin in August 2026 and continue until July 2027.”
He added, “As a follow-up to the water taxi program planning study, the Ministry of Transportation, through the Director General of Sea Transportation, has outlined several points, namely the finalization of the pre-design study or the preliminary study and the basic design.”
He concluded, “We will prepare a detailed engineering design study (DED), implement program acceleration measures, and submit an estimated timeframe for the operational trial in 2026.”
For now, tourists traveling from Bali Airport directly to Canggu must allow for 1.5 to 2.5 hours of travel time. During the height of the peak travel season, we here at The Bali Sun would allow at least 3 hours to make that journey.
There are hopes that with the water taxi trial set to come into effect later this year, Bali’s traffic woes could soon be a thing of the past. In the meantime, the advice remains the same; leave more time than you think to travel by road…and always bring snacks!
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