Bali’s Insane Plan to Build a $20B Subway
By MegaBuilds
Bali is planning to build a $20B urban subway! The goal: Efficiently connect the most highly touristed areas in Bali and solve the traffic problem. But, what do the locals have to say about it? And is it going to destroy Bali’s identity?
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0:00 Bali’s Insane Plan to Build a $20B Subway
0:53 The History of Bali
3:35 Overtourism
5:00 The Bali Urban Subway
7:17 Current Progress
8:02 Problems and Criticisms
Here’s what others had to say:
@Jordan-zd2tx
That clip of the woman crying at the start had nothing to do with the rail being built it was an entirely different interview
@yahaha297
The rejection of projects like a subway in Bali under the pretext of “preserving identity” seems contradictory, especially when these same balinese people still rely heavily on private vehicles, which actually cause congestion and pollution. A subway is built underground, so it wouldn’t alter Bali’s aesthetics or cultural appeal.
@pogogod6036
Indonesian here, I don’t get about this metro system destroying the Balinese identity stuff while there are already a lot of night clubs on the island. I went to Bali last year and traffic was bad, it’s almost like Jakarta but the roads in Bali are small, so kind of even worse. A proper metro system will only do good there. The main problem from overtourism in Bali beside the traffic jam is the prevalence of bad tourists over there these past years. Many tourists overextended their visa, or worse, open businesses illegally taking over the local businesses, also some bad behaviours which usually the culprits are drunk Aussies or Russians.
Balinese government better plan carefully what kind of tourist destination they want Bali to be going forward, considering tourism is the main economic drive of the island. Even if they need to take unpopular actions, they need to do it now before it is too late.
@partakinandana9116
As a Balinese who always watch MegaBuilds channels, I’m so happy that this ground breaking project is highlighted as one of your videos.
@Sebastian-cu2zq
The earthquake point can be easily dismissed, Japan is known for earthquake yet they are have one of the most extensive regional and commuter rail network.
@denny.dagger
This project will break what identity ? Bali identity itself has been broken years ago.
But imo, rail based public transport in Bali, especialy around denpasar n kuta, is undeniable. They really need it. Not only the subway, but also high rail in the surface. Then local administration need to design how logistics will run on this rail based transport, instead of transported by regular vehicles. And one more, I guess it is the time for Bali to move their air port. Ngurah Rai is not strategic anymore in controlling traffic. They need to build a new one a bit far away, then connecting it to the new subway system.
@vovkadsp4360
They just shut down public bus a month ago. Bali’s government is never serious when it comes to public transportation. when you live in Bali long enough you will realize that the development of this island is never planned carefully, thats why you see so many narrow roads. the subway seems good only for tourists. south of Bali is chaos. the most concering problem now is waste management. it amazes me that there are still people who fly for hours and spend thousands of dollars to come and enjoy the chaos, respect to them! i would rather fly to thailand and smoke weed lol.
@tomtaat
Living in Bali, I’m skeptical that this proposed metro system will be effective. In my opinion, the priority should be providing accessible mass transit for the local population first not always the focus on tourists. Notably, the proposed metro lacks a stop in Denpasar, Bali’s primary city where the vast majority of people live.
Driving in Bali, weekends and public holidays generally offer smoother traffic flow due to fewer delivery and construction vehicles. Weekday rush hours are significantly worse. Therefore, I believe a subway system should primarily address the needs of local residents, focusing on Denpasar and extending to tourist destinations frequented by commuters. Furthermore, the proposed tourist stops seem poorly positioned. I doubt many tourists would opt to navigate a local subway system immediately upon arrival, only to be dropped off at Sunset Road when their hotels are typically located beachside in areas like Legian. What Bali truly requires is comprehensive infrastructure development and planning. A north-south and east-west freeway system would be a significant improvement and will be needed even if there is a subway for all the trucks. I don’t see any start on this. They could also ban delivery/loading trucks during peak hours…
@PermanaJayanta
As a Balinese, I thought subway was the better way to fix traffic problem. We can’t keep building road.
Sure the ideal way would be to spread the tourism area to northern/east/west area, but I bet that would be take more effort.
The plan is good, the concern is about implementation. Government doesn’t have good reputation when it’s coming to public needs.
@advmday
Between 1960 and 2025, the local Balinese population has more than doubled, yet no one talks about that. No one talks about infrastructure not keeping up with such a large population growth. Easier to just blame tourists.
@eckartschumacher4153
A couple of years ago, the Indonesian government determined 10 priority locations across the archipelago to be developed as tourism centers. Obviously also because Bali was considered “over-touristed” and the potential of international tourism should be spread more equitably across the nation. However, seems that the government has given up on such a plan and just goes the easy way: leverage Bali even more to make more money. I personally think that the subway basically is a good idea, i.e. for the convenience of the EXISTING number of tourists (and to make tourists “less visible / less encroaching” on the convenience of the local population!). However, seems that this subway is supposed to go together with further growth plans for the tourism sector in Bali. And therefore, the subway is probably not such a good idea …. leading to even more destruction of Bali.
Btw, I am German, having been living in the vicinity of Jakarta for 25 years, and I have been to Bali a loooooot of times. But now ….. not “my place” anymore …………
@dika3127
Props to the local gov for finding ways to fund this project when the central gov doesn’t give a damn for fixing traffic with efficient public transportation.
@bungabening3530
If Indonesia wants to preserve Bali’s beauty and culture, the government should consider doing what Bhutan does and charge tourists a substantial fee for visas. Also, make it more difficult for foreigners to settle there.
@justone10minutes
Bali is the most complicated region to manage because they strongly want to preserve their traditional side, but at the same time, it has become the most modern-foreigner influenced area in Indonesia.
@goodmoodgoodday5385
So much optimism here! Me as an expat living in Bali for more the 2 decades predict the failure of this project. It will simply fail on the reality of Bali. The concept to shuffle the tourist via underground transportation to several hot-spots is logical. But after they left the station, whats next? If you ever visited Bali you may remember the catastrophic small and rough side walks plastered with holes and obstacles. Then the weather, its hot and humid up to 90%. Tell me who going to walk a long distance from a shopping mal or tourist spot to the stations? There are much more comfortable transport systems available, named scooter and motorbike. You go from your home straight to the location of your choice. Its not New York, London or Berlin where its a pleasure to have a walk on wide side walks. Keep that in mind.
@jdrudolfp2
Correction @9:07 He is not the governor of Bali. He is a police general being appointed by the ministry of interior just to fill in the vacuum of power until general election is held. Now the governor is not him.
@thenasiudk1337
Some Balinese actually reject the idea of public transportation itself, specifically people who owned car/motorcycle rent business as it would a huge threat to their business. Bali’s bus system closed back in December 2024 due to “operational cost” but that seems contradictory and doesn’t make sense because Bali’s government income is actually pretty high.
Original source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta2bj5lpeg0
