The Existence Of Electric Scooters In Jakarta Is Starting To Worry

JAKARTA - Uploading photos of a number of people using electric scooters rented by online transportation service, Grab, on a pedestrian bridge (JPO) is in the public spotlight.

The photo was uploaded to the Instagram account of the DKI Bina Marga Service. From the series of photo uploads, among them there is a picture of damage to a JPO with traces such as an electric scooter tire.

Head of the Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo, will discuss this issue with GrabWheels, as the provider of this electric scooter service. Moreover, the use of this electric scooter at the JPO has the potential to cause damage.

"Yesterday we discussed this with Grab. They will install a device on the JPO which functions to deactivate the e-scooter while on the JPO," said Syafrin, yesterday.

Syafrin added that the Transportation Agency will also limit the use of this electric scooter in public places, although no personnel have yet regulated the use of the scooter.

"We have also said that e-scooters are prohibited from operating in the HBKB area, sidewalks and JPOs. So, when they try to enter there, we will remind them," said Syafrin.

This electric scooter can be rented at a rate of IDR 5,000 per 30 minutes. This item can be picked up at the nearest storage station in the Grab application.

The Pedestrian Coalition considers the existence of this electric scooter to be unsettling for pedestrians. This concern was conveyed before the information on the JPO was damaged due to the use of an electric scooter.

"They are disturbed by the static maneuvering of the e-scooter, because sometimes they cross the sidewalk," Alfred Sitorus, founder of the Pedestrian Coalition, told VOI, Wednesday, November 13.

According to him, there are no strict regulations regarding the prohibition of scooters in certain places. Moreover, he considered that Grab's proposal to deactivate GrabWheels when entering JPO was an ineffective rule. This is because electric scooters do not only come from GrabWheels rentals, but many people in general have owned them privately.

"So, as soon as possible, the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government if it wants to make a governor's regulation, or a regional regulation, must look for regulations on it, such as a law or regulation of the minister of transportation. Not just a ban on use, but legal certainty of the existence of an electric scooter," explained Alfred.