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Motorbike taxis to get more expensive in dozens of cities
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Transportation Ministry road transportation director Ahmad Yani (middle) speaks as Grab Indonesia's head of strategy and planning for public affairs, Tirza R. Munusamy (right), and Gojek Indonesia's senior vice president of public policy and government relations, Panji Winanteya Ruky, listen after a press briefing on Thursday. (JP/Riza Roidila Mufti)
P
eople in 88 cities across the country will need to fork out more for hailing ojek (motorbike taxis) through their smartphones starting on Friday, as a policy to secure drivers’ income is expanded beyond the country’s main urban centers.
The 88 cities add to 45 cities that have already implemented Transportation Ministry Decree No. 348/2019, which sets minimum and maximum fares for the motorcycle taxi services following a series of protests by ojek drivers, who said fares were too low to support their welfare.
“After this, we hope to see the full implementation in all cities across Indonesia by September,” the ministry’s road transportation director, Ahmad Yani, said at a press briefing with motorcycle taxi app providers Gojek and Grab on Thursday.
Ahmad Yani said the fare regulation was rolled out in stages to allow transition time for the application providers to make adjustments.
The new minimum fares represent an 11 percent to 20 percent increase from previous rates set by the ride-haling app providers.
The decree distinguishes three zones with regard to fares for smartphone-facilitated ojek services: In Zone 1, which includes Sumatra, Bali and Java (excluding Greater Jakarta), the price floor has been set at Rp 1,850 per kilometer and the price ceiling at Rp 2,300 per km.
In Zone 2, Greater Jakarta, meanwhile, prices may range from Rp 2,000 to Rp 2,500 per km. Rides will be most expensive in Zone 3, which includes Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku and Papua, where the price range is set at Rp 2,100 – Rp 2,600.
The decree also introduces the concept of base fares for journeys of less than 4 km, which must range from Rp 7,000 to Rp 10,000 in zones 1 and 3 and from Rp 8,000 to Rp 10,000 in Zone 2.
