The government seems to mean business this year when it comes to clearing up Kuta’s mega-congested streets.
Until the end of February, police are conducting a month-long traffic flow experiment, where they’ve completely reworked the one-way and two-way roads system.
Now the next item on the agenda seems to be those gargantuan buses blocking everything up.
Badung Regency’s Department of Transportation, Communication and Information says it will be reevaluating the maximum length of vehicles allowed to operate in the tourist town.
“Later, we will further review seven-meter buses, if they are still relevant or not. If not relevant, maybe the size limit can be reduced to five meters,” the department’s spokesman, Tofan Priyanto said on Monday, as quoted by Nusa Bali.
According to Priyanto, buses seven meters in length (along with five-ton trucks) are actually not even permitted in Kuta under Badung Regency Decree no. 2248 of 1996.
Bali Police Bonaparte Silalahi did also confirm that buses over seven meters are not allowed in Kuta, particularly on Jl. Dewi Sartika, Jl. Raya Tuban, and Sunset Road. Police will ticket and fine offenders, says Silalahi.
However, the regency doesn’t seem to have been so great at enforcing this decree–especially if Sunset Road is really supposed to be in the seven-meter bus restricted area. So hopefully, this “reevaluation” done by Badung would mean an improvement in enforcement.
Other than the buses, Priyanto states the obvious and says he sees the number of taxis operating in Kuta as another major source of congestion. To deal with this issue, he says his department will be coordinating with the Bali Province Transportation Agency in the near future.
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