Indonesia: Go-jek, Grab to register as transport companies: Minister

• Apr 02, 2018

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has said ride-hailing service providers are required to register as transportation companies within the next two months, so the ministry will have authority over their services.

Ride-hailing companies are currently under the supervision of the Communications and Information Ministry.

“So far, we have had difficulty in overseeing the companies because they are not registered as transportation companies,” Budi said on Sunday in Surakarta, Central Java, as quoted by kompas.com. The minister added that the ride-hailing companies were targeted to become transportation companies within two months.

Two ride-hailing companies, Go-Jek and Grab, currently operate in Indonesia. Uber, formerly the third company to operate locally, has merged its Southeast Asian operations with Grab, and will no longer be available as an independent service from Apr. 9.

Budi said the ministry would treat the the ride-hailing companies separately, because their business model was different from conventional transportation companies.

The minister was responding to recent protests by drivers of ride-hailing ojek, or motorcycle taxis, who protested the low fares the ride-hailing companies had set, saying that the fares negatively affected their income.

President Joko Widodo, who received representatives of the protesting drivers, had instructed the Transportation Ministry to mediate between the ojek drivers and the ride-hailing companies.

Budi said the ministry would also revise Transportation Minister Regulation No. 108/2017 on non-route public transportation to accommodate the new policy. Under the new system, the ojek drivers, who are currently treated as partners of the ride-hailing companies, are to become formal employees. (bbn)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/04/02/go-jek-grab-to-register-as-transport-companies-minister.html