In short. Trans Metro Dewata (TMD) is the only regular air-conditioned city bus in Bali with fixed stops, and since 2025 it is funded by the provincial government. A ride costs 4,400 rupiah (2,000 for concession passengers), cash is not accepted, and you pay with a bank electronic-money card. There are six corridors running from 4:30–5:00 to 18:20–18:40: 1 Kuta parking–Tabanan, 2 Ubung terminal–airport (the stop is at the domestic terminal, interval 15–20 minutes), 3 Ubung–Sanur, 4 Ubung–Ubud (Monkey Forest), 5 Kuta–Jimbaran, 6 Kuta–Nusa Dua. You change at Ubung and at the Kuta parking; from the airport to Ubud you go via Ubung. There are no buses in the evening and at night, and from a stop to a villa in a lane you walk or take a motorbike taxi.
What it is. Trans Metro Dewata, TMD for short, is the only regular city-type bus in Bali: low floor, air conditioning, fixed stops. Since 2025 it is funded by the provincial government through the transport agency Dishub Bali together with the regencies of Denpasar, Badung and Gianyar. The 2026 budget is about 49.7 billion rupiah, and from January to July 2026 the buses carried more than a million people, about 4,800 a day, wrote Bali Post. There are 75 buses on the line.
How much it costs and how to pay. A ride costs 4,400 rupiah, and 2,000 for schoolchildren, students, pensioners and people with disabilities. Cash is not accepted: you pay with a bank electronic-money card when boarding or with a QRIS QR code through a banking app. An e-money card is also handy for the toll road, which is covered in a separate guide. In August 2026 the province ran a promotion of 1,000 rupiah a ride when paying by QRIS, reported the Antara agency: such promotions repeat, so watch the news.
Six routes. The 2026 timetable, compiled by IDN Times Bali from the operator's data, Bali time:
- Corridor 1: Kuta central parking (Sentral Parkir Kuta) to Pesiapan terminal in Tabanan, 4:30–18:30.
- Corridor 2: Ubung terminal in north Denpasar to Ngurah Rai airport, 5:00–18:40. The airport stop is at the domestic terminal, in the arrivals area.
- Corridor 3: Ubung terminal via Dalung to Sanur, 5:00–18:30.
- Corridor 4: Ubung terminal to the central parking by the Monkey Forest in Ubud, 5:00–18:20.
- Corridor 5: Kuta central parking to the Bali Polytechnic in Jimbaran, 5:00–18:30.
- Corridor 6: Kuta central parking to Nusa Dua central parking, 5:00–18:20.
The interval on the airport route is 15–20 minutes, checked by Kompas. The operator calls the timetable approximate: in Denpasar traffic jams the bus is late like everyone else.
How to change buses. There are two hubs: Ubung terminal, where corridors 2, 3 and 4 meet, and the Kuta central parking, where corridors 1, 5 and 6 meet. From the airport to Ubud it works like this: corridor 2 to Ubung, then corridor 4 to the Monkey Forest, with each boarding paid separately. From the airport to Nusa Dua a taxi is faster: the bus corridors there start from Kuta, not from the airport.
What not to expect. The last trips leave between 18:20 and 18:40, and there are no buses in the evening and at night. Stops are on major streets, so to a villa in a lane you still walk or take a motorbike taxi. With a big suitcase it is awkward: steps and a narrow aisle, as Kompas honestly writes. But for daily trips Kuta–Denpasar or Sanur–Denpasar it is the cheapest transport on the island with a predictable price.
What this means for you. If you arrive with light luggage and are in no hurry, corridor 2 from the domestic terminal for 4,400 rupiah takes you to Denpasar, then you change. If you live in Kuta, Sanur or Ubud and travel into the city on weekdays, get an e-money card: it also opens the toll road and parking. In the evening and with luggage, take Grab, Gojek or a taxi.