By public transport
Public transportation in Balikpapan consists of small minibus named angkutan kota or angkot for short. Locals often call angkot as taxi and metered taxi as taxi argo. There's no public bus inside the city. Minibuses serves public transport between points. Although there're dedicated routes, they often deroute due to passenger's request. They also sometimes don't serve the whole route.
The color of the minibuses determines their routes. Common routes are as follows:
White top/Orange bottom Route 1: between Kampung Baru Ujung and Terminal Batu Ampar
White top/Light Green bottom Route 2A: between Terminal Damai and Terminal Batu Ampar through Ring Road possible deroute to Balikpapan Baru housing and or Damai III area
White top/Gray bottom Route 2B: between Balikpapan Baru and Jalan A Yani through Jalan AMD
White top/Light Blue bottom Route 3: between Terminal Batu Ampar and Pelabuhan Semayang through Klandasan
White top/Yellow bottom Route 5: between Kampung Baru Ujung and Terminal Damai through A. Yani
White top/Dark Blue bottom Route 6: between Kampung Baru Ujung and Terminal Damai through Pelabuhan Semayang
White top/Green bottom Route 7: between Terminal Damai and Gunung Tembak
White top/Light Yellow bottom Route 9: between Terminal Batu Ampar and KM 24 to Samarinda
By taxi
Some taxi companies operates in Balikpapan. It is advisable to call for their call center, tell your location and wait the call center arrange their unit to pick you up. It is uncommon to wait for empty taxis on the street because they usually stop and wait for orders from their call center.
List of taxi companies and their call center number:
Mawar +62 542 873145
Kalung Mas +62 542 762222
Globalindo Taxi +62 542 878787
Neotax