Looking For Solutions To Improve The Welfare Of Online Ojek Drivers

JAKARTA The government's plan to increase the tariff for online motorcycle taxis (ojol) is still being debated. The increase in tariffs, he said, was not a solution to the problems faced by thousands of ojol drivers.

The issue of the plan to increase the ojol rate has become a discussion for at least the past week. The Director General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation (Dirjen Kemenhub) Aan Suhanan said a study related to the increase in ojol rates by 8-15 percent had entered the final stage.

"For the demands related to tariffs, we have reviewed and it is final for tariff changes, especially the two wheels, there have been several increases," said Aan at a Working Meeting (Raker) with Commission V DPR RI, at the Senayan Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Monday (30/6/2025).

Aan added that the finalization of this tariff increase was made based on an in-depth and continuous study. And later, the tariff increase will vary depending on the zone of each user.

The plan to increase the ojol rate by a maximum of 15 percent was driven by complaints from drivers, aka drivers, because the application cut was too large.

To note, the current platform cut is a maximum of 20 percent as stipulated by the government. However, in the field, it turns out that this platform cut is bigger than the provisions, not even a few drivers claim to get a discount of more than 50 percent.

The current ojekonline tariff refers to the Decree of the Minister of Transportation Number KP 564 of 2022 which is valid as of September 10, 2022. At that time, the Ministry of Transportation raised the ojol tariff by 5.7 to 13 percent in line with the increase in the price of material for pertalite type oil, solar subsidies, and Pertamax.

However, the plan to increase the rate of ojol this time has received a lot of criticism, especially since this has been linked to improve the welfare of drivers. This intention, said a number of circles, will not be achieved if the discount costs are not changed.

BPJS Watch Advocacy Coordinator Timboel Siregar said the increase in ojol rates was not the right solution in the midst of the current condition of society. According to him, the high nominal tariff will only increase inflation.

"In the midst of weak purchasing power, people actually have alternatives to Transjakarta. Don't let the tariff increase be counterproductive, so ojol workers will have reduced orders, then they will fall. So, the increase in tariffs is not a solution. Passengers will become victims," explained Timboel.

If the goal is to improve driver's welfare, Timboel encourages the government to focus on cutting the applicator cut which reaches 20 percent. On the other hand, the distribution is also often protested because it is considered detrimental to the driver.

He urged the state to be firm in ensuring the justice of income received by ojol. According to Timboel, the government was actually able to reduce the applicator's cut, even to the level of 10 percent.

"This is indeed part of the government's lack of seriousness, in this case the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Transportation. Indeed, so far the government has been weak towards applicators, which I hope the government will issue regulations as regulators, they must be brave, firm on the regulations," said Timboel.

"Regarding the cut intervention, yes, actually as a regulator, you must be brave. So, the government must be firm on this ojol issue and that is the solution," he added.

If the government is determined to raise ojol rates, a number of dangers lurk in sight, including order drivers will decrease, state revenue through online transaction tax will decline, and Indonesia's unemployment is predicted to increase.

"The important thing now is not to increase the tariff, but to protect (driverojol) because the government is the regulator that regulates it, not regulated. Those who do have the authority in terms of regulation and in terms of budget to improve the welfare of ojol workers," said Timboel.

A discount on applicators reaching 20 percent or more is in the spotlight. Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Online Motorcycle Taxi Drivers, Igun Wicaksono, said that the increase in ojol rates without cutting the application cut did not solve the existing problems.

He was even worried that the increase in tariffs would reduce the number of customers because they switched to other more efficient modes of transportation.

While the number of ojol drivers with current customers is out of balance. Bigger offers than requests, "Igun said, citing Tempo.

Senda, Executive Director of the Indonesian Transportation Society, Deddy Herlambang. He stated that the tariff increase was unfair because there was no limit on the number of ojol drivers. According to his view, the trade-hailing business market share is stable, while the number of drivers increases every day because there are no restrictions.

Even though other transportations such as angkots and taxis have been implemented to limit the number of fleets. So far, there has been no limit on the number of ojol drivers nationally. This limit has only been limited in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi because the number of ojol drivers has reached millions.

Because there is no limit, the driver's income will actually decrease. Every drive is fighting for smaller consumer cakes.

"If the tariff is increased to 10 thousand percent, if there is no limit on the number of drivers, it's useless," said Deddy.

It is feared that the policy of increasing tariffs will lead to the abandonment of ojol by passengers because they are looking for easier alternative modes of transportation.

It is not impossible, for example, consumers choose to take motorcycle loans if their monthly income is smaller than the cost of transportation with ojol. If this is the case, in the end big cities like Jakarta will be hit by more traffic jams.