The Ministry of Transportation has officially postponed the increase in online motorcycle taxi fares (ojek). The postponement is carried out by considering the situation and conditions that develop in the community.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, Adita Irawati, said, “This decision to postpone takes into account various situations and conditions that develop in the community,” Adita said in a statement, quoted on Sunday (28/8/2022).
Adita also said the Ministry of Transportation would screen and receive more input from all stakeholders regarding online transportation services in Indonesia.
“In addition, the postponement is needed to get more input from stakeholders, as well as conduct a review to get the best results,” said Adita.
According to Adita, the Ministry of Transportation is still coordinating and seeking input from stakeholders, including transportation experts, regarding the online motorcycle taxi fares.
“The Ministry of Transportation will also immediately inform the public if a decision has been taken regarding the plan to increase the online ojek tariff,” Adita concluded.
Furthermore, the public can switch to private vehicles if the online motorcycle taxi fares are increased. This can be seen in research conducted by the Research Institute for Socio-Economic Development (RISED) entitled “Consumer Perceptions of Rising Ojek Online Tariffs in Indonesia”.
It can be seen that 53.3% of consumers stated that they would return to using private vehicles if the tariff increase was carried out.
“The relocation of online ojek users to private vehicles will of course also exacerbate congestion in big cities,” said RISED Research Team Leader Rumayya Batubara, quoted in his official statement.
The survey, which was conducted on 1,000 consumers who use online, also stated that users considered the tariff policy to be too expensive. The tariff limit is deemed not to reflect the purchasing power of the people of each region and the current price is appropriate.
In the survey, it was revealed that many consumers were only able to provide an additional Rp 500-Rp 3,000 for each trip. Meanwhile, the increase in Kepmenhub regulation 564/2022 reached Rp 2,800-Rp 6,200.
“In fact, the additional tariffs as stated in Kepmenhub 564/2022 concerning Guidelines for Calculation of Fees for Motorcycle User Services Used for the Interest of the Community Conducted by Applications reach Rp. 2,800 to Rp. 6,200 per km,” he said.
“The willingness to pay or willingness to pay additional costs from consumers when there are additional costs is about an average of 5 percent for all zones”.
Rumayya explained that the additional cost or willingness to pay in Zone I is 5% of the expenditure. Zone II and Zone III are 4% and 4.5% respectively.
The non-conductive macroeconomic situation, starting with the rising inflation trend and the planned increase in fuel prices, will put pressure on consumers’ purchasing power. Even in this condition, the increase in tariffs is actually inevitable.
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