The ministry’s land transportation director general, Budi Setiyadi, said the regulation would cover four main aspects of online ojek services, which include tariffs, driver suspension, safety and protection of the drivers and customers, and business partnerships between the apps and small and medium enterprises (UMKM) such as food stalls.

However, he said the new regulation would not recognize ojek as public transportation.

Under the 2009 law on road traffic and transportation, the two-wheeled vehicles are not considered to be public transportation.

Budi, however, said Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi would use his discretion, as regulated under the 2014 law on government administration, to resolve the legal status of ojek. “With this discretion, motorcycles would be used as public passenger vehicles.”

Budi added that the drafting of the regulation involved various parties, including representatives of both homegrown app-based ride-hailing company Go-Jek and Singaporean company Grab, experts and the drivers.

“The regulation will be issued by March. However, it will be effective six months after the issuance because there is a transition period,” he said.

Ojek has become a popular mode of transport in Indonesia.

Regarding the new regulation, Budi said there were some concerns relating to tariffs, adding that ride-hailing companies and drivers still held different views because the current tariff set by the companies were considered too low.

Two-Wheel Action Movement (Garda) leader Igun Wicaksono stated that the current tariff set by the two companies ranged from Rp 1,200 (9 US cents) to Rp 1,600 per kilometer.

Drivers would not accept it, Igun said, adding that Garda had urged the companies to raise it to between Rp 2,500 and Rp 3,000 per km.

Budi said the minimum tariff should ideally be between Rp 2,000 and Rp 2,500 per km, while the maximum tariff should not exceed Rp 6,000 per km.

Regarding the suspension of drivers, he added that they have demanded that operators should issue a clarification before suspending those who violated the partnership agreement.

With regards to safety, Budi said the regulation would require drivers to wear shoes, a helmet and jacket in a bid to minimize accidents. The last aspect, business partnerships, recently came in to view following input from drivers, he added.

Go-Jek’s vice president of corporate affairs, Michael Reza Say, said the company was not aware of the draft’s details.

“However, we hope the regulation will accommodate the aspirations of our drivers and UMKM partners as well as our customers,” Michael told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Grab Indonesia’s head of public affairs, Tri Sukma Anreianno, said the company supported the government’s initiatives to regulate the transportation mode.

Transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno said a decrease in the revenue of online ojek drivers, due to the increasing number of drivers, was the main cause of the driver’s safety issues.

“At present, their average income is Rp 5 million per month, while their work hours keep increasing,” Djoko told the Post. (das)

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