The tests have so far been done by municipal transportation agencies, but their lack of facilities and resources prompted the government to allow private entities to conduct them in accordance with the Traffic and Land Transportation Law.

The government has announced that it will start cooperating with a total of 86 official machine shops affiliated with APM across the archipelago this month to conduct in-house roadworthiness tests. The tests, however, would be largely to accommodate the needs of ride-hailing app vehicles.

Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers (Gaikindo) executive Jongkie Sugiarto said that test business was particularly enticing for auto industry players as they would not only test roadworthiness, but also provide the vehicle improvement services if any are needed to pass the test.

“The government usually can only decide whether vehicles pass the test or not, but for the brand holders [conducting the test] with their official machine shops, they can also fix the malfunctions, like for brakes,” he said over the phone recently.

The potential revenue would come from the car repairs before or after the test, Jongkie added. “It could also serve as a marketing gimmick, like if they buy that particular vehicle brand, they can also do the test on the spot without much hassle,” he said.

PT Krama Yudha Tiga Berlian Motors (KTB), the authorized distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles, stated that the company was in the process of seeing if they could do the tests. With more than 200 official Mitsubishi shops across Indonesia, KTB is ready to conduct them, with a few considerations.

“We want to see if the investment can be minimized as it will have a consequence for the fee charged for the service as well. We also want to see if the fee can be adjusted [to make it different from the government’s fee],” KTB marketing division director Duljatmono said on Monday.

He estimated the additional investment for a machine shop to build a test facility would be from Rp 2 billion to Rp 5 billion.

Earlier in February, PT Hibaindo Armada Motor, the official dealer of the Japanese commercial vehicle Hino, kicked off a three-month trial of its own test facility, built for Rp 5 billion.

A periodic test is obligatory for transportation vehicles, buses, trucks, panel vans and trailers, among others, to ensure road safety. With limited test facilities available in Jakarta, business players in the capital sometimes have to wait up to four months to get their fleets checked.

This prompted the government to privatize the test under certain requirements for the industry, including the availability of certified inspectors, standardized facilities and reliable infrastructure and equipment.

The Transportation Ministry’s director general for land transportation, Pudji Hartanto Iskandar, said the government would prioritize the ride-hailing app partners for the first phase of the test run by the private
sector.

This is part of an effort to implement a new Transportation Ministry regulation on ride-hailing apps, No. 26/2017, under which the enforcement of tests on the vehicles will start on June 1.

“It is related to the ride-hailing companies’ concern about the queue for the tests and the unpreparedness of the transportation agencies. As for general vehicles, they still have to take the test in regency transportation agencies,” he said.

The fee for a test done by the private sector would likely be the same as what is regularly charged by the regional transportation agency, Pudji added.

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