Radical New Rules Could Help Tackle Tourist Traffic In Bali This Christmas

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Politicians in Bali are proposing racial changes to traffic rules that could help combat travel chaos on the roads this Christmas and New Year.

Local politician Agung Bagus Pratiksa Linggih is proposing that Bali ban all non-Bali Province-licensed vehicles from entering Bali over the festive season. This would effectively ban domestic tourists from traveling to Bali in their own vehicles.

It is no secret that the huge influx of tourists to Bali over the Christmas and New Year holidays puts huge pressure on the island’s road network.

With over a million international arrivals expected in December, in addition to tens of thousands of domestic tourists traveling to Bali both by flight and overland from East Java, traffic congestion is a real issue.

Last year, over the New Year holiday, tourists could be seen bonding their taxi rides kilometers away from the airport building in order to walk, and in some cases run, the rest of the way, and gridlock took hold around Ngurah Rai International. 

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Linggih suggests that by banning vehicles from outside the Province from entering the island over the Christmas and New Year holidays, some traffic congestion could be avoided. He wants the ban to be in place for personal vehicles and commercial taxi vehicles, two and four-wheeled alike.

He told reporters, “This is not only for travel but also for online two-wheeled motorcycle taxis operating in Bali; they must have DK plates.”

“Because this is eating into the original Balinese UMKM (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) travel market, it also adds to traffic congestion, especially at the end of this year. Last year, there was total congestion.”

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He confirmed that he will be presenting the policy to the Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, on Monday, 25th November, and calling for a temporary policy to be put in place.

He stated, “For starters, these regulations are made according to the season only. If it is high season in Bali, vehicles with non-DK plates should not enter Bali or be stopped at Gilimanuk or Padang Bai Harbor.”

He added, “The number of vehicles can be restrained ahead of the New Year for short distances. But in the future, I hope that all travelers operating in Bali will have DK plates because 72 percent of the Bali Provincial Government’s income comes from motor vehicle taxes.”

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However, the Chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Bali I Made Rai Ridharta, has told reporters that trying to enact such a policy at such short notice, even temporarily, has no legal route to follow.

Ridharta told reporters, “If you want to make it like that, make the rules first. It needs to be thought about for overland travel, which directly brings passengers from outside Bali.”

He added, “If plates outside Bali cannot operate, let alone not be allowed to enter Bali, logically, it will reduce traffic density from the travel transportation sector. But do the regulations allow for that, let alone prohibit entry to Bali.”

He suggested that although there are policies regarding where HGV vehicles can and cannot travel within Bali Province, the suggestions from Linggih do not fall within the same policy umbrella. 

Tourists planning on being in Bali this Christmas and New Year holiday are reminded to allow for plenty of extra time when traveling between destinations, on day trips and excursions, and way more time than seems necessary when traveling back to Bali Airport.

Although Bali Airport teams are working with local police and even the army to ensure that traffic congestion does not pile up, at peak times, traffic is an unavoidable reality in the island’s busiest resort areas.