According to reporting from Indonesia Expat, the Ministry of Transport is set to introduce innovative transport solutions such as water taxis and seaplanes, in major tourist hotspots like Bali, Labuan Bajo, and Sumba.
This initiative, which is part of a broader effort to boost national tourism, aims to:
- Improve Connectivity: Enhance access to key tourist areas and reduce travel times.
- Ease Traffic Congestion: Particularly around Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport by providing alternative routes from the airport to popular beaches like Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Canggu, and Uluwatu.
- Support Economic Growth: By fostering a more efficient transport system during peak periods like the upcoming 2025 Eid season.
Indonesia Expat reports that officials, including Transport Minister Dudy Purwagandhi and Tourism Minister Widiyanti Putri Wardhana, have underscored the importance of these projects in addressing traffic challenges and ensuring smoother mobility for both tourists and locals. The two discussed various issues, including the integration of new transport modes into Indonesia’s tourism strategy, ensuring that visitors have quicker and more direct access to the country’s top attractions.
“We hope for support and collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, especially in anticipating the spike in traffic from and to tourist attractions as well as vehicle density in national tourism centres during the [upcoming] 2025 Eid transport period,” said the Minister of Transport, Dudy Purwagandhi, in a statement as quoted from the press on Saturday (1/2/25.)
Furthermore, regarding the planned operation of water taxis and seaplanes, Purwagandhi explained that the plan to develop water taxis would focus on the west coast of Bali Island, namely from the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport area (Sekeh Beach) to Kuta Beach, Legian Beach, Seminyak Beach, Canggu Beach, and Uluwatu Beach, says Indonesia Expat.
“The use of this water taxi would cut travel time from the airport to tourist destinations, increase mobility, and facilitate direct access to various tourist destinations. Then, reduce congestion on land and provide alternative transport for the community as well as the tourists,” said Purwagandhi in a separate statement on the following Sunday (2/2/25.)
As for the seaplane, the Minister of Transport and the Minister of Tourism have also discussed the option of providing seaplane operations in potential tourism areas, particularly Bali, Labuan Bajo, and Sumba.
Traffic jams are still relatively considered the number one problem (especially) on the Island of the Gods. Previously, on Thursday (23/1/25,) the Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, said that an effective solution must be put into practice, even if it means considering an alternative mode of transport.
“After [flight] passengers get off the [I Gusti Ngurah Rai] airport, they are often faced with traffic jams because [the traffic] is very dense. We have to find a solution. It was discussed earlier that, in addition to reducing traffic jams with better slots and time management, we are also thinking of how to optimise efforts to use other modes [of transport],” Yudhoyono said.
Source: Indonesia Expat
Stock image by Helge Wengenroth from Pixabay
