Boni Hargens Welcomes Ojol Regulation, Outlines 3 Urgent Priorities

Senior Political Analyst and Founder of the Indonesian Voter Institute (LPI), Boni Hargens (Ist)

JAKARTA - Political and legal analyst Boni Hargens considers the issuance of a Presidential Regulation (Perpres) on online transportation or online motorcycle taxis (ojol) to be urgent to provide legal certainty while strengthening the protection and welfare of millions of drivers.

The government and the DPR RI are currently finalizing the regulation with the target of issuance before the 81st Anniversary of the Republic of Indonesia on August 17, 2026.

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Sufmi Dasco Ahmad previously chaired a coordination meeting with a number of relevant ministries on Monday, August 10 to discuss the finalization of the ojol Presidential Decree. The discussion was directed at refining the substance of the regulation so that it can provide legal certainty and protection for drivers, passengers, and application companies.

Boni said one of the main urgencies of the regulation is to regulate the amount of commission that the application company charges the driver.

"The first urgency is the reduction of the applicator commission which is too high. So far, the application company has implemented a commission cut that is considered too burdensome for drivers. This regulation is an intervention by the state to cut and set a maximum limit for the applicator commission cut to a maximum of 8 percent," said Boni in a release received by the editorial board, Wednesday, August 12.

According to him, with the maximum limit, the ojol driver is expected to receive a minimum income of 92 percent of the travel fare. This policy is considered to increase the driver's income while having an impact on the welfare of their families.

The next urgency, said Boni, is to provide protection and social security to ojol drivers. Until now, drivers are generally in the status of partners so that not all the rights and protections inherent in formal workers can be obtained.

"This Presidential Decree will provide a stronger legal umbrella to ensure drivers get decent social security and labor safety while driving on the highway," he said.

Boni also highlighted the need to re-arrange the partnership relationship between drivers and application companies. According to him, the relationship needs to be made more balanced because a number of aspects, such as tariff schemes and sanctions against driver accounts, have been considered to be determined unilaterally by the app.

"The relationship between drivers and application parties is considered unbalanced because the determination of tariff schemes and sanctions, such as suspending accounts, is often done unilaterally by the application," said the doctor of philosophy graduate from Walden University, USA.

Therefore, Boni considers that the mechanism for calculating tariffs and partnership rules needs to be made more transparent. The regulation is expected to create a fairer relationship while preventing legal loopholes that could potentially harm drivers.

In addition to driver protection, Boni said the Presidential Decree also needs to anticipate the development of online transportation business models that are now not only serving passenger transportation.

According to him, application-based services have expanded to include food delivery and logistics. Therefore, regulations need to be formulated adaptively in order to be able to accommodate the development of the digital-based transportation and service sectors.

"The online transportation business model has grown rapidly beyond just passenger transportation. This regulation must be adaptive to modern business patterns, including food delivery services and freight or logistics," he said.

Boni hopes that the finalization of the ojol Presidential Decree can be completed soon so that there is certainty of rules for all parties involved in the online transportation ecosystem.

According to him, the presence of clear and balanced regulations is important to create a healthy business climate while ensuring that drivers receive adequate protection and welfare.