Online motorcycle taxi (ojek online or ojol) applicators in Bali, Grab Indonesia and Gojek, support the government’s plan to strengthen regulations related to special rental transportation after protests from conventional taxi drivers.
Halim Wijaya, Grab Indonesia’s Director for the Eastern Indonesia region, stated that they are ready to collaborate with the government to create a more inclusive online transportation ecosystem that suits local needs.
According to Antarabali, “We support local government policies that aim to improve the welfare of the Balinese people, we are also ready to collaborate to create a more inclusive online transportation ecosystem that meets local needs,” said Director of East Indonesia Grab Indonesia Halim Wijaya in a statement in Denpasar.
Violation and Traffic Congestion
Grab also supports the strengthening of regulations contained in Bali Governor Regulation No. 40 in 2019, which regulates application-based special rental transportation services.
In 2024, there have been complaints from conventional taxi drivers regarding online motorcycle taxis operating using vehicles with plate numbers outside Bali (DK), which are considered to cause congestion and violate the rules applied by the locals.
Grab claims that they have complied with existing regulations, because the main requirement that must be met by prospective driver-partners is to have complete documents that are still valid according to their domicile, such as Indonesia’s ID card, driver license, and vehicle registration certificate.
Gojek also supports government policies and affirms its commitment to empowering local communities.
A number of ojol drivers, such as I Nyoman Suanarta, said that the ojol application has followed the applicable rules, although in reality there are still violations by individuals who try to circumvent the rules, such as changing vehicle plates.
However, they hope that the enforcement of this rule will be stricter to protect local drivers.
Beritabali reported, “I hope that this rule will be increasingly enforced for the common good, this is also a form of protection for local drivers, actually the rules have been implemented, even drivers all use Balinese plate cars, including the drivers are also Balinese, but maybe in the field there are still those who commit outsmart violations such as changing vehicle plates,” Suanarta said.
Protest Triggers Rule Revision
On the other hand, the Chairman of Indonesian Online Driver Association in Bali, Aditya Purwadinata, revealed that the rise of ojol vehicles with non-DK plates was caused by a system leak, where some drivers initially registered using DK plates, but then replaced the vehicles with plates outside Bali after joining.
According to Balipost, “So when registering they only borrow local vehicle data, there should be at the time of registration tightened for each applicator,” said Aditya in accordance with the Working Meeting with Commission II of the Bali DPRD.
Aditya also suggested that the Bali government focus more on regulating vehicle plates, especially vehicles coming from outside Bali, which can cause congestion.
The Bali Transportation Agency held a meeting with applicators and other stakeholders to discuss this issue.
They agreed to enforce existing rules, including the obligation for ojol drivers to have a Balinese domicile letter. If a vehicle with a license plate outside Bali is found, the relevant party can report it, and the ojol account can be suspended.
Regarding the restriction of non-Balinese vehicle plates, actually what needs to be considered by the Bali government is the number of Jakarta homebase companies that have branches in Bali and then they distribute their office vehicles, all of which are B plates.
Samsi Gunarta, from the Bali Transportation Agency, also added that supervision of applicators and vehicle owners needs to be carried out to ensure that regulations are enforced.
Sources: AntaraBali, Bali News, Bali Post
Image: via Grab Indonesia
