New Trans Sarbagita Denpasar- Jimbaran route to operate next week

The Bali administration will operate a new Trans Sarbagita public bus route connecting downtown Denpasar with Jimbaran starting next week, an official said.

“Ten new buses are ready to serve the route. We have completed administrative requirements, including the license plates and we have also conducted a trial on the new route, so the bus will start operating by next week,” said Ida Bagus Parsa, head of Trans Sarbagita, who spoke on Friday.

He added that initially they may operate nine out of the 10 buses so that one bus could be used as a backup, in case there was a problem with any of the buses running the route.

Trans Sarbagita was officially launched in August 2011 and currently plies a 34-kilometer route connecting Batubulan and Nusa Dua. It is Bali’s first mass public transportation system and is aimed at reducing traffic congestion in Denpasar, Badung, Gianyar and Tabanan regencies.

The new buses will only be 20-seat capacity with 15 handles for standing passengers, smaller than the buses serving the Batubulan-Nusa Dua route, which have 35 seats and 20 handles.

Parsa said the provincial administration was operating smaller buses on the new route because it includes some narrow streets in the city.

The new Trans Sarbagita route will embark from Ngurah Rai Stadium in Denpasar, passing Jl. Kamboja, Jl. Melati, Jl. Surapati, Jl. Letda Made Putra, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Raya Sesetan, Jl. Pesanggaran, Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai, Jl. Raya Kampus Udayana, Jl. Uluwatu and finishing at Garuda Wisnu Kencana (GWK) Cultural Park in Jimbaran.

On the return journey, the buses will start from GWK Cultural Park passing Jl. Kampus Udayana, Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai, Jl. Pesanggaran, Jl. Raya Sesetan, Jl. Diponegoro, Jl. Letda S Parman, Jl. Udayana, Jl. Surapati, Jl. Kamboja, Jl. Melati and will finish at Ngurah Rai Stadium.

The provincial government had already built some bus stops along this route last year.

Parsa said that based on monitoring during the trial last week, there were no problems with the buses and the route. “We conducted the trial to find out the estimated time needed for one lap, as well as to familiarize the bus crews with the route, so that we can make an analysis to improve the operation.”

The trial had been carried out twice a day, at 8 a.m. and at 3 p.m., to get a different outlook on the traffic situation in the morning and in the afternoon, he added.

The new Trans Sarbagita route will operate from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., with one bus leaving the starting point every 15 minutes and halting for one minute at each stop along the route. Tickets will cost Rp 3,500 (41 US cents) for a single trip, while a discounted ticket price of Rp 2,500 will be available for students.

Parsa said that the public transportation was expected to ease traffic congestion in the city. “We hope that there will be more people, who currently use their private vehicles, turning to this transportation means.”

The increasing number of vehicles in Bali has worsened congestion on the island. Data from the provincial Public Works Agency shows that there were 2.4 million vehicles on the island in 2011, an increase from only 1.55 million in 2009. About 80 percent of the vehicles are in south Bali.