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Online taxi driver intimidated for not joining rally
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Several app-based ride-hailing taxi drivers stage a rally at the National Monument in Central Jakarta, protesting a newly issued ministerial regulation on non-route public transportation on Jan. 29. (kompas.com/Ridwan Aji Pitoko)
A
n online-powered taxi attracted the attention of fellow drivers on Monday, who staged a rally in front of the Transportation Ministry's office on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta on Monday.
The car, which reportedly drove through a Transjakarta bus lane, was accused of accepting an order from passengers instead of joining the rally that demanded a revision on Transportation Minister Regulation No. 108/2017 on non-route public transportation, which among other things requires car owners to join a cooperative when running the business.
"There was an online taxi carrying passengers. We recognized it because the car bears a sticker with an advertisement. Some of us tried to stop it," said Fadli, a participant at the rally, as quoted by kompas.com.
Other participants reportedly threw rocks and plastic bottles at the car, before a coordinator at the rally reminded them not to get caught up in provocative acts.
The car eventually managed to escape the crowd after the police escorted it away from the area.
Thousands of security officers comprising personnel from the National Police and the Indonesian Military were deployed to secure the rally.
The regulation was a revised version from the previous one, which had been annulled by the Supreme Court.
Previously, on Friday, drivers from the Greater Jakarta chapter of the Indonesia Ride-Hailing Apps Drivers Association gathered in front of the ministry to voice their support for the new regulation because it categorized them as public transportation. (fac)
