Hundreds of Balinese Residents Participate in Free Mudik Programme from Ubung Terminal
Hundreds of residents from various regions in Bali participated in a free mudik (homecoming) initiative, a collaboration between PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN) Unit Induk Distribusi (UID) Bali and Denpasar Municipal Government (Pemkot). They departed from Ubung Terminal in Denpasar, heading towards several districts in East Java.
One participant, Dwi Suyanto, expressed satisfaction with the free mudik facility. In addition to saving costs, he noted that safety and support were well-maintained by the organisers.
“Praise be to God, on the one hand it saves money, so I was finally able to join this mudik. Safety is also guaranteed by the government,” said the participant heading to Surabaya at Ubung Terminal, Denpasar, on Tuesday (17 March 2026).
General Manager of PLN UID Bali, Eric Rossi Priyo Nugroho, stated that the free mudik initiative is conducted annually. For this year’s mudik, PLN UID Bali deployed 13 buses. The number of registered participants reached 520 people.
“So we prepared approximately 520 seats. The distribution across Bali is quite widespread, so we have departures from Denpasar, Badung, and Gianyar,” said Eric during the passenger send-off.
However, of the 520 participants who initially registered, only 443 ultimately chose to participate in the free mudik. Each participant had different destinations: Banyuwangi (27 people), Jember (102 people), Malang (95 people), and Surabaya (219 people).
Eric noted that all bus drivers transporting the participants underwent urine tests conducted by the Denpasar National Narcotics Agency (BNNK). Health checks were performed to ensure a smooth journey. Particularly, drivers would be operating buses for approximately 12 hours of travel. Backup drivers were also prepared to further guarantee passenger safety.
Meanwhile, Denpasar Transportation Office (Dishub) conducted inspections of the buses used for mudik. These checks ensured that the buses were genuinely roadworthy.
Solution to Reduce Traffic Congestion
Denpasar Mayor, I Gusti Ngurah Jaya Negara, appreciated the free mudik initiative. According to him, through this programme, residents wishing to return to their hometowns could receive good service access. This also simultaneously reduces traffic congestion.
“We see congestion at Gilimanuk; with the aid of these buses, I believe it can benefit Denpasar residents and Balinese residents who want to mudik to their respective hometowns,” said Jaya Negara.
Head of Denpasar Transportation Office (Dishub), I Ketut Sriawan, ensured that the free mudik implementation could reduce the intensity of road user congestion. The ratio of road users would improve as more participants used buses.
“If 500 passengers all used private vehicles, clearly vehicle capacity on the road would increase significantly and become congested,” explained Sriawan.
Sriawan urged participants not to hesitate in cautioning bus drivers who drove recklessly or sped on the road in order to reach their destinations more quickly.