The trial of changing the crossing route for tourists from the Gilis and Lombok to Bali is causing headaches for fast boat operators
indonesiaexpat.id
Just curious, does anyone know what's driving this change? I went back and read the article twice, but did not see the reason for conducting the trial.
The local transfer between Gili Islands and mainland Lombok (Bangsal) is mandated to use Karya Bahari Cooperative (read: cartel) public boats.
So what is driving this change. Simple, just follow the money; the Lombok mainland locals in/around Bangsal want to be part of the tourist cash flow.
I'm quite sure a few officials have been "persuaded" to accept this non-sense arrangement increasing travel time and cost.
This is a safety isue as well as the boats between Gilli Island and Bangsal are smaller making trips hazardeous in rough weather. See example:
Unggahan sebuah video bule wanita menangis gegara ditolak naik fastboat dan takut ombak viral di media sosial.
www.detik.com
(use google translate if needed)
Another "benefit" for tourists is that Bangsal is a well know tourist rip-off jetty (just refer to google reviews and check out 1 star (honest) reviews).
