Traffic Engineering in Ubud Causes Severe 4-Hour Gridlock

The Gianyar Transportation Agency has begun implementing the third phase of traffic engineering or diversion in Ubud today. The measures, which were intended to alleviate congestion, have instead triggered severe traffic jams across several roads in the Ubud area.

Observations show that the traffic engineering in the Ubud District is being applied at two key intersections: the junction of Jalan Pengosekan and Jalan Made Lebah, and the Arjuna Statue intersection connecting Jalan Raya Ubud, Jalan Cok Gede Rai, Jalan Gunung Sari, and Jalan Raya Andong.

All vehicle flows have been diverted into a one-way system. Vehicles travelling from Jalan Cok Gede Rai, or vice versa, are prohibited from entering Jalan Raya Ubud. Similarly, vehicles on Jalan Raya Pengoseman are not permitted to turn into Jalan Made Lebah.

As a result of these changes, vehicle density on several roads in Ubud has worsened since 12:30 WITA. Heavy congestion was visible on Jalan Monkey Forest, Jalan Raya Ubud, Jalan Hanoman, and at the Arjuna Statue intersection.

“On Jalan Pengosekan, we have taken the initiative to divert the flow of vehicles to loop through Jalan Monkey Forest Ubud towards the Ubud Art Market,” said I Wayan Agus, a traffic officer from the Transportation Agency, when met at the Monkey Forest intersection on Tuesday (8/9/2026).

“Because if they continue straight towards Jalan Hanoman, it is a total standstill. We have been stuck for more than four hours, from 12:00 WITA until 16:30 WITA,” he added.

Agus stated that the traffic engineering began this morning with the goal of reducing congestion at the three intersections. He declined to confirm when this third phase of traffic diversion would end, admitting that the congestion situation has actually worsened.

“Traffic has been heavy since this morning. Many people were unaware of the traffic diversion announcements on social media. We do not yet know how long this will last, but there will be an evaluation later,” he said.

Driver Complaints

The severe congestion has been lamented by numerous drivers. Some foreign tourists travelling by motorcycle were also caught off guard by the new one-way system.

Ahsyar, an online motorcycle taxi driver, complained about the heavy traffic on Jalan Raya Pengosekan, Ubud, while delivering a passenger over a 12-kilometre distance. “It is congested and heavy. The traffic is getting worse. I am an online driver; I just dropped someone off here in Ubud, and then I saw the traffic is severely jammed,” said Ahsyar.

Ahsyar noted that despite the short distance, his journey took much longer, causing passenger fares to swell to twice the usual rate. “Because of the traffic, the travel duration increases, so the fare paid by the passenger becomes more expensive. For a 1 km distance, it is usually around Rp 8,000. But because of the congestion, the journey takes longer, so it becomes Rp 17,000,” said the driver, who is originally from Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan.

In addition to Ahsyar, an employee at a supermarket on Jalan Raya Pengosekan, Ubud, also expressed concern regarding the severe gridlock. “People could be late for work if the traffic is this bad. They say the route was changed to prevent congestion, but instead, it has become much worse,” they said.