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After years on the streets, app-based motorcycle taxis finally regulated in 2019
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Wait for it: Ride-hailing app drivers queue up to buy food for their customers at the Pisang Goreng Madu Bu Nanik food outlet in Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, on Oct. 31. (The Jakarta Post/Arief Suhardiman)
T
he year 2019 marked a new era in app-based motorcycle taxis as the government finally issued regulations years after the ride-hailing services hit the roads in most parts of Indonesia without any regulations.
In March, the Transportation Ministry issued Ministerial Regulation No. 12/2019 on the safety of motorcycle taxis used for the public interest. Ride-hailing companies must comply with minimum standard services in safety, security, amenity and orderliness to ensure protection for drivers and passengers.
In terms of safety compliance, the regulation requires drivers to ride their motorcycle properly with full concentration and to be knowledgeable about the area in which they operate. Drivers should regularly check and take care of their vehicle and ensure vehicle worthiness. Drivers should wear long trousers, shoes, gloves and wear a safety jacket.
The regulation, among other things, requires applicant operators to provide a panic button for drivers and passengers to be used in emergency situations, ensure that each driver’s identity and plate number registered on the app corresponds with that in operation, and provide shelter for drivers to wait, pick up and drop off passengers at strategic locations.
Although these standards have been set and all ride-hailing operators say they have disseminated the new regulations to drivers, implementation in the field is still lacking. In reality, many drivers have not yet complied with these minimum standards such as not wearing shoes and gloves or using vehicles with plate numbers different from those registered. Many drivers also still drive recklessly.
Meanwhile, providing shelters at strategic locations is not easy, especially in Jakarta. Many drivers still flock in certain areas and often block the road near crowded railway stations when picking up and dropping off passengers such as near Palmerah and Tanah Abang stations.
Along with the regulations on safety, the ministry also issued decree No. 348/2019, which sets minimum and maximum fares for the motorcycle taxi services, following a series of protests by the drivers asking for higher fares.
