Government Intervention Awaited

The government is urged to intervene in resolving problems related to the mushrooming of online-based ride-hailing services. Regional administrations remain powerless without direction from the central government.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Ride-hailing ojek (motorcycle taxis) dominate parts of the road next to Palmerah Station on Jl. Tentara Pelajar in Jakarta on Monday (2/4). Many public spaces, such as those near railway stations, have become a favorite place for ojek to get passengers.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The central government is urged to immediately implement regulations on app-based ride-hailing automobiles and ojek (motorcycle taxis). Currently, the amount of app-based ojek and cars is deemed too large, leading to problems in cities across Indonesia.

These problems include the mushrooming in volume of automobiles on the streets, leading to traffic jams. Public transportation, the management of which is under continuous improvement, is left behind. This is because people prefer to use cheaper and faster app-based ride-hailing services despite their acknowledgment of possible safety and comfort issues.

Previously, Transportation Ministry director general of land transportation Budi Setiyadi said on Friady (30/3/2018) people increasingly left public transportation behind in favor of app-based ride-hailing services in many regions. The heavy use of motorbikes and mushrooming of the ride-hailing services were believed to have triggered this.

Public spaces, including sidewalks, parks and street corners, have turned into spots for app-based ojek and ride-hailing automobiles to stop while waiting for passengers. Moreover, protests by ojek drivers often disrupt public order and people’s sense of safety. The relationship between ojek drivers and their companies as so-called “partners” has led to drivers not being able to rely much on the company. There is no clear protection measure for both drivers and consumers.

Intervention by regional administrations, such as by the Bogor municipality through the Bogor mayor’s Regulation No. 21/2017 on operations of online-based car or motorbike rent, was proven ineffective to resolve problems related to online transportation management. Companies end up not adhering the regulations.

“Our two letters requesting data on the number of online ojek or automobiles in Bogor went unanswered. Perhaps they are afraid of our limitations as their revenue is obtained from the huge number of automobile and motorbike owners joining in their company,” Bogor Transportation Agency non-routed transportation section head RA Mulyadi said.

Jakarta Transportation Agency chief Andri Yansyah said the city would not issue any regulation on ride-hailing transportation. Instead, the city will wait for the central government to establish a regulation first before following suit with a derivate regulation.

According to Budi Setiyadi, there has yet to be any regulation to impose sanctions on app-based ride-hailing applications — or applicators. “If there are reports of companies violating regulations, the Transportation Ministry can file a report with the Communications and Informatics Ministry, which then may block the company’s app. However, the Transportation Ministry is cornered here. If the app is blocked, many drivers will lose their jobs,” he said.

Meanwhile, the implementation of a regulation to put driver and vehicle information on the vehicle’s dashboard was delayed by the merger of Grab and Uber, among other reasons. Previously, the Communications and Information Ministry targeted to implement this regulation in the third week of March this year. “The process is almost finished as requested by the Transportation Ministry,” said Communications and Information Ministry director general of informatics applications Abrijani Pangerapan.

As the central government is focused on online transportation, training for conventional public transportation are affected. Budi said the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) continued to ask about their future.

Minister’s regulation

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said on Monday (2/4/2018) the ministry, along with the Communications and Information Ministry and the Presidential Staff Office (KSP), had decided that online-based ride-hailing companies should be considered transportation companies under the Transportation Ministry.

“Soon, we will meet with Go-Jek and Grab. By becoming transportation companies, drivers will deal directly with the companies. Regarding the presence of drivers’ cooperatives, they will still be taken into account,” Budi Karya said.

He reaffirmed that, in this change of applicators’ position, the only legal foundation available for online-based ride-hailing apps is Transportation Ministry Regulation No. 108/2017 on non-routed public transportation services. This regulation is under Law No. 22/2009 on traffic and transportation. “There will be no further delay, revision or revocation of Regulation No. 108/2017,” he said.

With the regulation implemented, all online-based ride-hailing drivers must adhere to prevailing regulations, including roadworthiness test, use of stickers and ownership of a driver’s license for public transportation. However, the government will remain uninvolved in determining prices for the online services.

PT Go-Jek Indonesia corporate affairs director Nila Marita said on Monday thorough research was necessary to find the extent of the policy’s impact on companies’ ability as technology providers. “[The policy] may affect our ability as a technology company to provide access to jobs. In the past three years, we have supported the creation of jobs for thousands of our partners,” she said.

Furthermore, Nila said research on the policy’s impact should be done carefully and thoroughly to ensure optimization of digital economy growth.

Exception

House of Representatives Commission V member Rendy Lamajido said the condition had backed the government into a corner. It is impossible to ban the use of motorbikes as public transportation due to the huge amount of drivers employed in the app-based ojek service, the huge demand for it and the fact that many relied on the industry for a living. However, motorcycles must not be used as public transportation.

“With this in mind, the Transportation Ministry can create an exception in the regulation for app-based ojek services for the sake of safety. This may include rules on maximum distance allowed, maximum speed, mandatory helmet usage and other rules,” Rendy said.

All parties are now waiting for the government’s swift action. Hopefully, there will be timed targets on the implementation of Ministerial Regulation No. 108/2017, the transformation of app-based ride-hailing companies into transportation companies and consolidation between ministries and with regional administrations to ensure regulation nationwide.

(RTS/ARN/HLN/MED/DD17)