Viral Video of Free Mudik Bus Passengers Quarrelling with Officials: NTB Transport Authority Responds
A video of a verbal altercation between free mudik passengers and officials at Kayangan Port has gone viral on social media. The West Nusa Tenggara Provincial Transport Authority (Dishub) has clarified that the dispute was not triggered by ferry crossing payment issues.
Ervan Anwar, Head of Dishub NTB, stressed that there were no payment obstacles for free mudik buses. “There are no issues regarding payment transfers. In fact, the ferry operator is also offering the service free of charge,” Ervan stated to detikBali on Saturday evening, 14 March 2026.
According to Ervan, the altercation occurred due to misunderstandings between mudik participants and field officials whilst queuing to board the vessel. The vehicle loading process requires considerable time. “It was just a minor misunderstanding. Because of the queue to board the ferry, the duration is between 30 to 45 minutes per ferry, and sometimes even longer,” said Ervan.
Ervan explained that free mudik buses cannot all enter a single vessel simultaneously. The buses must share space with other vehicles also queuing at the port. “The free mudik buses cannot all board the same ferry at once because there are also other public buses and vehicles. They are divided by operator to ensure fair distribution and smooth operations,” Ervan clarified.
He added that the authority would evaluate the incident to prevent recurrence during future mudik operations. “We will still conduct an evaluation next year, and this serves as a note for us,” he added.
Erlisetya Wahyudi, General Manager of PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry Kayangan Branch, stated that the company had proposed that free mudik buses arrive at Kayangan Port in the morning to avoid mixing with commercial vehicles. “We have already proposed that buses coming from Mataram serving free mudik should arrive in the morning so as not to mix with other commercial vehicles, so that the service process and vehicle management at the port can run more orderly,” Erli said.
According to Erli, the travel distance often causes free mudik buses to arrive at the port simultaneously with commercial vehicles. “Coordination with all stakeholders will continue to be conducted to ensure smooth service provision for users,” Erli added.