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Jakarta Post

Tensions linger in wake of violent protests

Jakarta’s public transportation drivers remained unappeased on Wednesday, the day after a strike by thousands of conventional taxi drivers descended into violent protests against ride-hailing apps, which they insist are illegal

Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, March 24, 2016

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Tensions linger in wake of violent protests

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akarta'€™s public transportation drivers remained unappeased on Wednesday, the day after a strike by thousands of conventional taxi drivers descended into violent protests against ride-hailing apps, which they insist are illegal.

Police and Jakarta Transportation Agency officers were seen standing guard at places where ojek (motorcycle taxis) and angkot (public minivans) pick up passengers.

At least a dozen police and transportation agency motorcycles were parked in front of Kota Tua railway station in West Jakarta on Wednesday morning.

While the streets were calm, many remained resentful in the wake of Tuesday'€™s violent protest, which saw 12,000 conventional transportation drivers '€” mostly Express and Blue Bird taxi drivers, as well as drivers of angkot, buses and bajaj (three-wheeled vehicles) '€” take to the streets in anger.

They accused the government of failing to regulate increasingly popular app-based transportation services such as Grab, Uber and Go-Jek, which they say are eroding their income.

During the protest, conventional taxi drivers initially targeted uniformed Go-Jek and Grab drivers; groups of ojek drivers later counterattacked, smashing cab windows.

The Jakarta Police have charged five people with provocation and disruption of public order.

Fifty-two-year-old Sutrisno, who drives a number 12 angkot plying the route between Kota Tua and Pasar Senen in Central Jakarta, said that he and many of his fellows still fiercely resented app-based drivers.

'€œI understand we'€™re all trying to make money here, but we should be competing in a fair game,'€ Sutrisno said, driving his vehicle.

More and more people have stopped using minivans since GoJek, Grab and Uber gained popularity, he said, adding that many conventional public transportation drivers were angry because their app-empowered counterparts not only violated regulations but also set lower fares.

As a result, Sutrisno said, conventional public transportation drivers could not compete.

Similarly, a conventional taxi driver who requested anonymity said that he supported the violent acts of his colleagues, which he thought were '€œnecessary'€ to make their point.

'€œIf we'€™re not violent, the government won'€™t listen to us,'€ he said.

He explained that business in the conventional taxi industry had slowed significantly since black-plated Grab and Uber cars had entered the market, offering lower fares.

'€œI haven'€™t seen a Go-Jek or Grab driver on the streets today. I don'€™t know how angry I would be if I saw one,'€ he said.

In response to the riots, Jakarta Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama asked conventional taxi drivers to remain calm and not provoke each other. He also demanded conventional taxi firms fire violent protesters, at the risk of losing their Jakarta operational licenses.

Meanwhile on social media, netizens called on Blue Bird and Express Taxi to apologize on behalf of their drivers, amid a damage control effort from Blue Bird, which offered free rides throughout Wednesday.

Twitter user @Riradana tweeted, '€œSaw your drivers protest yesterday, they were inhuman. Free ride? No thanks, I value my ideals, humanity and safety more,'€ she said.

Fellow Twitter user @adi_wp tweeted, '€œHoping @express_group and @Bluebirdgroup will apologize for yesterday'€™s incidents.'€

In Bali, conventional taxi drivers followed suit and staged a rally on Wednesday to protest against ride-hailing apps. The peaceful protest saw hundreds of participants demanding the government ban app-based transportation services, saying that they had created unfair business competition for them.

Agnes Anya and Ni Komang Erviani contributed to this story
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