Moh Khory Alfarizi, Jakarta – The chairperson of the Indonesian Transportation Workers Union (SPAI) Lily Pujiati tended to agree with the analysis of transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno who deemed online motorcycle taxi or "ojek online" as a failed business model.
Lily said that motorcycle taxi drivers have not felt their income growing despite the bump in tariff set by the government as she believes drivers' share of income has been slashed by large cuts imposed by the tech companies running the motorcycle taxi apps.
"Online transportation is a business that has failed to improve the welfare of ojek online drivers. However, this is inseparable from the state's failure to monitor online transportation companies or applicators who often violate the law," said Lily when contacted on Monday night, October 10.
Lily assessed that the Minister of Transportation's Decree No KP 667/2022 which regulates tariff increases is ineffective. She also suspects transportation app companies had violated the rules, the maximum deduction for transportation app firms is set at 15 percent but to this day she believes companies unilaterally make cuts ranging from 20 percent to almost 40 percent.
In addition, she said, the regulation only regulates tariffs and app deductions for passenger-to-passenger services, not for goods and food deliveries which are still left to the market price mechanism and are determined unilaterally by the online motorcycle taxi companies.