Reject Tariff Increase Before Perpres Issue, Ojol Association: Only Increase Income for Applicators

JAKARTA - The Association of Online Motorcycle Taxi Drivers, Garda Indonesia, rejects the plan to increase the online motorcycle taxi (ojol) tariff until the regulation of the profit-sharing system between the app and official drivers is issued in the form of a Presidential Regulation (Perpres).

The Chairman of the Indonesian Guard, Raden Igun Wicaksono, emphasized that the government should not raise the ojol tariff in any form before the regulation was issued.

According to Igun, if there is an increase in tariffs before the Perpres is issued, what happens is not an increase in welfare, but rather the potential for greater exploitation.

"Because without a share of the proceeds, the tariff increase only increases the income of the appraiser, not the driver," he said via an SMS to VOI, Friday, December 12.

Igun Garda also asked that the narrative of maintaining a business climate that sacrifices the rights and justice of the people be stopped. He emphasized that the state should not hide behind that excuse.

Igun assessed that the narrative of maintaining the business climate was not appropriate because on the other hand it also ignored the rights, justice, and future of millions of people who work as ojol drivers.

"It's time for the state to really side with the people. Don't use the excuse of protecting the business ecosystem to ignore the rights of millions of ojol drivers. Since 2018, the Garda has been fighting for this justice, but even when the president changes, there has been no concrete steps from the government. We look forward to the presence of the Ojol Presidential Decree as a tangible form of state support," he said.

Therefore, the Guard asked President Prabowo Subianto and relevant ministries to issue the Ojol Presidential Decree with a profit-sharing scheme. Where Ojol is 90 percent and the applicator is 10 percent.

"Ensuring a fair Ojol 90 percent and 10 percent of the application scheme, including regulating the contribution of social security from the application company of 1 percent to 2 percent to the state," he explained.

The relevant authorities, continued Igun, must also involve legal driver organizations that have representatives in the provinces in the formulation of policies.

"Finally, the government and the application company should stop all forms of tariff policies that are not in favor of drivers and consumers of ojol service users," he said.

Previously, the Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) gave a signal that there would be an increase in the online motorcycle taxi or ojol tariff. The plan was based on the fact that the ojol tariff had not changed for the past five years.

The Deputy Director of Non-Route Transportation of the Road Transportation Directorate of the Ministry of Transportation, Utomo Harmawan, ensured that there would be a tariff adjustment.

"Of course we will adjust the tariff, because it has not been changed since it was set 4-5 years ago," he said in a discussion in Jakarta, quoted on Friday, December 12.

According to Utomo, the tariff, which has not changed for the past five years, has caused unrest among drivers or ojol drivers. As well as driver associations.

"So that's what always makes people restless, yes, in the voices of these drivers' demands or their associations," he explained.

Therefore, continued Utomo, the Ministry of Transportation is drafting a new tariff scheme by considering two factors. One of them is the price of fuel oil (BBM).

"We agree and in our regulation we have prepared the tariff based on the increase in the UMR price and the increase in fuel prices, we agree," he said.