JAKARTA– Debate is heating up in Indonesia over the need for new regulations for ride-hailing applications after companies such as Uber and GoJek, a homegrown motorcycle taxi and delivery business, have clashed with local transportation services.
GoJek has gained popularity since it launched its app at the start of the year in a country where there are plenty of taxis but also massive gridlock. It offers a fast way to get around the city and also offers courier services and food and grocery delivery. Singapore-based GrabTaxi recently entered Indonesia with its motorcycle taxi service called GrabBike to take advantage of growing demand for such services.
Now, these companies are going head to head with individual motorcycle taxis, known as ojeks, some of which have started picking fights with drivers about getting customers. GoJek says it instructs drivers to maintain professionalism and has created a quick-response task force to come in and ease tensions.
Uber, meanwhile, was targeted by police after a group representing taxis and other transportation operators complained that its business practices were illegal. In response, police detained five drivers for questioning, releasing them the same day. The company is now working to establish itself as a technology business to avoid potential legal hurdles and has been in touch with officials regarding regulations for the sector.
"It is important to explain the way the app works and the value we bring to the transportation industry," Karun Arya, Uber's spokesman for Southeast Asia and India said via email.
Uber and GrabTaxi say they hope to play a role in shaping potential regulations. The companies say regulations are essential as long as they make sense and align with their business goals.
"We advocate any regulations that align with our commitment to provide safe, affordable and convenient transport for passengers in Indonesia," Cheryl Goh, the vice president of marketing for GrabTaxi, wrote in an email. She said the company hasn't faced any major regulatory difficulties and maintains close, collaborative relationships with governments in the six countries where it currently operates.
In many countries, however, ride-sharing services have faced pushback from traditional taxis that find themselves struggling to compete.
In Indonesia, the debate over the need for regulation comes at a time when it is seeing a rapid rise in technology-based startups aimed at making life easier for its 250 million citizens. That's particularly true in Jakarta, where traffic, a lack of public transportation and crumbling infrastructure have led to huge inefficiencies. The growth of these services has left lawmakers scrambling to catch up, and as clashes have grown more prominent, so have calls for legal certainty.
"We have to see these [apps] as a form of creativity that needs to be given a space," said Yudi Widiana Adia, deputy chief of a parliamentary commission that oversees transportation. Along with other legislators, he's urging the Transportation Ministry to draft regulations covering the way app-based transportation companies operate. "Don't see them as a law offender," he said.
Within the ministry, however, some officials say they don't yet see a need to intervene.
"I am sure, slowly, a new balance will be formed. So, it's too early if we regulate these [app-based transportation providers]," said Djoko Sasono, the director general for land transportation at the ministry.
Regulating ojeks in particular would require an amendment, since current law doesn't recognize motorcycles as a form of public transport. In the absence of specific rules, the companies say they're operating according to current traffic laws. GoJek is also providing its drivers with safety trainings – it recently launched a training program with driving safety consultant Rifat Drive Labs in Jakarta – and has worked with police to develop a 36-point safety checklist.
"We're certainly trying to make sure we're on the right side of the law as the laws stand as of today," said Rohan Monga, GoJek's chief operating officer. "If the laws do change then we'll certainly act in accordance."
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Source: Indonesia Debates New Regulations for Transport Apps
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