Bali back in September 2017, it’s economy was descended since the volcano Mount Agung eruption.
And now, there is a new threat which is become a long-term problem; the congestion.
It’s become a public secret that Bali relies on tourism as a main income for the island. There are so many travellers from around the globe visit Bali every year.
Based on data from Bali Central Bureau of Statistics, Bali has received 4.92 million foreign tourist arrivals in 2017. That number increased by 23.14 percent compared to the previous year, which recorded a total of 4,001 million people. This makes during the high season, Bali become overloaded and traffic jam is unavoidable.
Congestion in Bali is primarily caused by tourist activities in tourist attractions, on holiday or tourist seasons. This sometimes becomes quite severe and very disturbing.
In Denpasar City, congestion also often occurs not only because of tourism activities, but also because of the activities of local people, which is an everyday activity, just like in other big cities like Jakarta; people working, kids going to school, etc.
The southern part of Bali, such as Kuta, Sanur, Uluwatu, Jimbaran, etc. are the most vulnerable by congestion, but in the holiday seasons congestion also often occurs in Ubud and surrounding areas.
Facing this problem, the government took an action, a solution to improve the roads infrastructure; an underpass in front of Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport is in under construction to break the congestion which always occurred in the roundabout of Ngurah Rai before.
While the progress is still going on, which makes the road narrower, causing even worse traffic.
On site anticipation has been made by the traffic police. They are using an alternative path. Several alternative routes which are currently used, is the route of Nusa Dua/Jimbaran to Denpasar is diverted through Bali Mandara Toll Road.
In other opinion, some said that something needs to be done to improve public transportation in Bali, or there will be a strong impact on tourism.
Bali does have the public Bus, the Trans Sarbagita. But up until now, visitors or even local people often use private vehicles because the bus system did not go well. The bus is often come late and they haven’t enough fleet. Although it is cheaper and comfortable, there is not much customers because the transportation is not well connected.
Another issue is vehicle size. Because the roads in Bali are not so big, buses used should be of medium size to fit the island’s narrow roads.
As a conclusion, for now, it is only a matter of time. There is nothing else besides being patient and supportive to face this problem.
We all know that the local government is now trying to break this problem by improving the roads infrastructure. Let’s hope that the construction is going well, and will be finish real soon.
Later after the construction is finished, we hope for a better public transport, by improving the system, as well as adding more fleet.
- Although this island faces some problems, Bali is still Bali, it has become a home far away from home for the “citizens of the world”. Let’s hope for the best, and don’t just complain. Because no matter what, love or hate, there is no place like home.
