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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Member of the Bali Provincial Regional Representative Council (DPD), Ni Luh Putu Ary Pertami Djelantik, or known as Ni Luh Djelantik, said that Bali is in a public transportation emergency. She conveyed this when meeting with various elements of society who have directly benefited from the presence of the Trans Metro Dewata (TMD) Bus transportation mode which has stopped operating since January 1, 2025.
"Trans Metro Dewata as one of the operators is a solution for people who do not have the economic ability to have private transportation, who cannot drive private transportation and also other people with, for example, their condition is one of the disabled semeton (siblings), school children, students, traders in the market, MSMEs," said the woman who is familiarly called Mbok Ni Luh to the media crew after the Audience at the Bali Provincial DPD RI Office, Denpasar on Friday, January 10, 2025.
She said that there are many sectors that are disrupted by the non-operation of this TMD. Therefore, she emphasized that public transportation must continue to operate. "Public transportation must continue to operate, because so many people's rice pots are disturbed from there. How can we be cruel, how can officials be cruel in the name of no budget, there must be a way," said Ni Luh Djelantik.
Ni Luh Djelantik also highlighted the relationship between the availability of public transportation and tourism activities on the Island of the Gods. "Because Bali is one of the favorite tourist destinations, how do we position Bali and then remain a favorite tourist destination for national and international tourists is by providing public transportation facilities," she said.
Previously, the red bus stopped operating due to budget issues. The TMD Bus with six corridors is entirely owned by the central government, not the Bali Provincial Government, while the budget for 2025 shows that there are not enough funds to continue operating. Another reason is that the Balinese people are considered still less interested in using public transportation.
"The total (funding requirement) is around IDR 90 billion with corridor management, operations alone are around IDR 82 billion, the 2025 State Budget does not prepare that much," said Head of the Bali Transportation Agency (Dishub) IGW Samsi Gunarta as reported by Antara Monday, December 30, 2024.
Following news of the suspension of TMD operations, Dyah Rooslina, the creator of a petition on the change.org page entitled Continue Trans Metro Dewata Bus Operations as Public Transportation in Bali, said that in reality public transportation is still very reliable.
"In reality, there are so many friends who do not have private vehicles, so they rely on their daily mobility using this transportation, then street vendors, friends with disabilities, the elderly, it is impossible to use vehicles," said Dyah.
Furthermore, Dyah also said that the existence of the TMD Bus can provide many benefits such as reducing the financial burden on students who are traveling, reducing pollution and minimizing the risk of traffic accidents, especially for children who drive under age and do not have a driver's license.
He also highlighted Bali which is currently increasingly congested with vehicles, "It's already very congested, Bali is a small island, what would it be like if there were no vehicle restrictions," he said.
Furthermore, Dyah regretted the inconsistency of the government's commitment to encourage the use of public transportation with the decision to stop the TMD Bus. "The government itself is trumpeting let's get people back to public transportation to reduce congestion and reduce pollution, but why is the government itself not committed with a decision like this, public transportation should be increased but instead it is stopped," he said.
Meanwhile, the clarity of the fate of the TMD is currently still awaiting a decision from the central government. However, previously the Governor-elect of Bali I Wayan Koster had conveyed his priority to revive the Trans Metro Dewata Bus or TMD after being inaugurated through a plenary determination by the Bali KPU.
"Buses, yes, a priority," said Koster as reported by Antara on Thursday, January 9, 2025.
Koster assessed that the TMD Bus must continue, but its operations must be reviewed because if it is revived it will be the responsibility of the region, not the center anymore. "We want to revive it, but it will be reviewed more carefully, effectively, and efficiently in its implementation," said Wayan Koster.
Regarding the payment method, the elected Governor of Bali conveyed the idea of sharing the cost burden, considering that the TMD operation requires funds of more than Rp80 billion, so it would be a heavy burden for the province if it were to bear it alone.
The option of sharing the cost burden of the TMD was also suggested by the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI), considering that this public transportation serves the Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar, Tabanan (Sarbagita) areas, so that the Denpasar City government, Badung Regency, Gianyar, and Tabanan can share with each other.
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