TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Head of the Indonesian Online Motorcycle Taxi Drivers Association (Garda), Igun Wicaksono, has urged the Transportation Ministry to reconsider its plan to increase online motorcycle taxi or online ojek fares by 8 to 15 percent. He called on the ministry to instead prioritize the association's demand for a maximum 10 percent application fee deduction.
"The application fee deduction should not be redirected by raising fares, as this will burden customers," Igun told Tempo on Tuesday, July 1, 2025.
The proposed fare increase was initially announced by Aan Suhanan, Director General of Land Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, during a meeting with the House of Representatives Commission V on Monday, June 30, 2025. Aan said that the fare hike would vary by zone and claimed that application providers had agreed to the plan.
Igun argues that the plan requires further assessment because a fare increase for online motorcycle taxis could fuel inflation, particularly in the transportation sector and among micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Moreover, he warned that it could prompt customers to switch to alternative modes of transportation. This, in turn, would negatively impact the welfare of motorcycle taxi drivers due to decreased orders, a situation that could also affect MSMEs within the digital transportation ecosystem.
"This means that the fare hike will not solve the problem," he asserted.
According to Igun, the situation would be different if the government first implemented a maximum 10 percent application fee deduction. Such a policy, he believes, would have a less significant impact on both application providers and drivers, and critically, "The impact on customers is not too significant."
Garda Indonesia does not reject a fare increase, but Igun insists that the Transportation Ministry must involve all parties in the online transportation ecosystem to reach a fair decision. Therefore, instead of monitoring the fare hike, Igun stated that the association remains focused on five key demands submitted to the Transportation Minister that have yet to receive a response.
The five demands are as follows:
The enactment of an Online Transportation Law, or at least a Government Regulation in Lieu of Law
A decision on a 10 percent application fee deduction.
Discretion on delivery fees for goods and food.
A comprehensive investigative audit of application companies that have reportedly taken 5 percent from drivers, according to the Transportation Ministry's Circular Letter No. 1001 of 2022
Eliminating membership schemes, priorities, savings, slots, "aceng", multi-orders, etc., that compartmentalize drivers, including all service fees
Igun affirmed that these five demands will continue to be advocated for, even reaching President Prabowo Subianto. Should the Transportation Minister fail to act promptly, Igun warned that online motorcycle taxi drivers, online taxi drivers, and online couriers will stage a demonstration on July 21, 2025. "In addition to the demonstration, we will carry out a mass simultaneous application shutdown action on all application platforms throughout Indonesia, targeting up to 500,000 drivers shutting down the application," he declared.
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