Image: Gojek could be a thing of the past. Credit. Gojek.com
The Vice President of Gojek Corporate Affairs, Michael Say, responded on Wednesday to the Bali governor’s plan to ban online transportation in Bali. Michael said that Gojek wants to discuss the matter first with the Bali Provincial Government.
“We will discuss and communicate this issue with all community representatives and the Bali regional government,” he said via SMS to cnnindonesia.com. “We also respect the aspirations from Bali’s conventional taxi drivers, who have complained about their condition to the Bali governor,” he added.
Michael explained that Gojek has become an alternative transportation option and the company also has a social impact on their drivers. “One of our visions in Bali is giving a positive social impact to the Bali community by providing new job opportunities and flexibilities, and create more independent entrepreneurs,” he said.
That’s why Gojek will communicate the issue with the Bali Government to find a solution for Bali’s conventional taxi drivers.
Bali Governor, Wayan Koster, met several taxi drivers last week who were part of what they call, Bali Transportation United (BTB). They felt that they being unfairly treated because the rate of the online transportation is too cheap for them. They also complained that online drivers didn’t understand Bali culture which differentiates the rate between foreigners and local passengers.
Koster told them that his side has prepared a solution, which is to draft regulations for the conventional transportation and help prepare an online application for them, and ban online transportation after 2019 President Election, which will be held on April.
Article 18 of Transportation Minister Regulation No. 118 of 2018 says that the permit to carry out online transportation businesses can be approved by the Indonesian Transport Ministry, or the Governor at a local level.
