Submitted by Ida Bagus Nararya Adityananda, who says:
This is the new transit network map of Denpasar, Bali metro per January 1st 2025. After the closure of Trans Metro Dewata buses that connects 4 regencies and city in Bali. Now, only Trans Sarbagita operates with its 2 corridor from GOR Ngurah Rai to GWK and GOR Ngurah Rai to Batubulan, Gianyar.
Transit Maps says:
On first glance, this looks like a rather nice diagram of bus services in and around Denpasar in Bali. It’s only on closer examination that the reader realises that a large portion of the service shown aren’t currently operating. All of the route lines for the Trans Metro Dewata (TMD) are at a lower opacity, all the stop names are crossed out and the legend at the bottom of the map has been replaced with bold red text explaining the situation.
Apparently, the ownership of the TMD has recently passed from the central government to the Balinese provincial government, who seem to have no interest at all in actually running the buses. The legend even has a QR code link to a petition to get the service running. Leaving all the non-operational routes on the diagram seems like a very deliberate choice to me, especially considering how important tourism is to Bali. It’s almost as if the map is saying, “look at all the fun places you could go by bus if they were actually running,” hoping that people will be annoyed enough to sign the petition.
This strangeness does overshadow the fact that this a more than competent diagram, with some lovely design touches. I particularly like the little bus illustrations that show their livery in the legend, and the disclaimer that this diagram is really meant to be viewed digitally – but if you are going to try printing it, then it should be printed on an A3 sheet or larger.
Our final word: It’s a bold choice to deliberately show services that aren’t actually running on a transit map: outside of short-term service disruptions, it’s not something I’ve seen before. It’s definitely driving a point home, and not really very subtly!