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Govt orders regions to keep ride-hailing decree in place
The government has called on regional administrations to keep a regulation on ride hailing applications in place until early November, when it is slated to issue a new one
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he government has called on regional administrations to keep a regulation on ride hailing applications in place until early November, when it is slated to issue a new one.
The Supreme Court (MA) recently annulled 14 points of Transportation Ministry Decree No. 26/2017, including details on fare floors and ceilings, operational areas and fleet quota.
The ruling will be effective on Nov. 1.
The government’s call followed the West Java Transportation Agency’s move to ban ride-hailing apps — especially for car services run by Uber, Grabcar and Go-Car — across the province until a new Transportation Ministry decree is introduced.
The agency made its decision on Monday following negotiations with the Transportation Aspiration Alliance (WAAT) of West Java, which initially planned to stage a protest on ride-hailing apps from Tuesday to Thursday.
Uproar over the Supreme Court’s ruling also reached Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, where thousands of angkot (public minivan) drivers staged a protest on Wednesday, blaming mobile-based ride-hailing service for their dwindling income.
The Balikpapan Transportation Agency subsequently closed the local offices of ride-hailing companies to accommodate the protesters’ concerns.
Transportation Ministry secretary-general Sugihardjo acknowledged that there had been a misunderstanding between the government and regional transportation agencies over the decree.
“While the new regulation has not been issued, [Transportation Ministry] Decree No. 26 will remain effective until November. So, during the transition period, conventional [transportation] providers should not assume that [ride-hailing services] are banned,” he said on Thursday.
The ministry will summon heads of transportation agencies from various provinces, including Banten, West Java, Jakarta and Central Java, where online ride-hailing services are in extremely high demand, and discuss the issue with them.
The ministry said it intends to follow President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo instructions to provide the public with a variety of options with regards to public transportation providers.
It is now drafting a new decree to be passed before the court ruling comes into effect.
Transportation Ministry acting director general for land transportation Hindro Surahmat said that his office was finalizing the new regulation and would issue it soon.
The government plans to finalize a draft on Oct. 17 and seek a public hearing prior to the issuance of the decree.
In response to the issue, Uber’s cooperatives partner Jasa Trans Usaha Bersama (JTUB) said that they “regretted the West Java government’s decision [to ban ride-hailing apps].”
“The regional government should share a similar attitude with the Transportation Ministry, which acknowledges that ride-hailing services are still legal because the regulation itself has not been revoked,” said JTUB secretary-general Musa Emyus.
“Only several points were annulled by the court.”
Meanwhile, transportation expert Danang Parikesit noted that the ban on ride-hailing operations had been rushed.
“If the ban continues, there will be an increase in private vehicles because there are areas that cannot be accessed by public transportation,” he said.
Danang added that the ban would also be ineffective because of a lack of legal basis to support its enforcement of online ride-hailing operations.
