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View all search results19 year old starts women-only 'ojek' service
kompas
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kompas.com
Women who refuse to take ojek (motorcycle taxis) because the driver is usually male and not her muhrim (a close relative whom she is permitted to associate with) will find Ojek Syar'i, an ojek service in Surabaya, an attractive alternative.
Syar'i means to adhere to religious rules, and as that name would suggest, all drivers of Ojek Syar'i are female and wear a headscarf.
In operation since March 2015, the service started when 19-year-old Evilia "Evi" Adriani, an international relations student at the National Development University (UPN) Veteran in Surabaya, had the idea to create an ojek business that targeted women who were usually unable to ride motorcycles.
"News about sexual harassment toward women in angkot (minivans) also worries me," she said as quoted by kompas.com.
Evi herself was the first driver of the new ojek service.
"My first customer was one of my lecturers after I told her about my idea," said Evi.
Evi also created a company jacket and a helmet adorned with the Ojek Syar'i logo.
A couple of weeks later she started to receive support from her friends, Abdullah Dinar and Agus Edi S., both 32 and studying information technology and business management respectively.
Currently the service has up to 18 drivers; all must have their own motorcycle and an Android mobile phone.
Customers of Ojek Syar'i are charged with a starting fee of Rp 5,000 and another Rp 3,000 per kilometer traveled. There is also a waiting fee of Rp 5,000 per 30 minutes and a cancelation fee of Rp 10,000.
The drivers, who mostly stay at home while waiting for call outs from customers, usually get three orders per day. From their days' takings, 30 percent goes to Ojek Syar'i management.
"During my early days as an ojek driver, I took around Rp 50,000 per day. But now my income is much higher," said Evi. (kes)(+++)
