TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Consumers Organization (YLKI) highlights essential aspects that are included in the new regulation on the online based ride-hailing services, which will take effect on April 1, 2017. The revised Transportation Minister Regulation No. 32/2016 is said not able to completely guarantee the consumer’s needs.

“Online taxi services has yet to answer consumer’s actual needs and protection,” said YLKI Chairman Tulus Abadi on Thursday, March 23, 2017.

Read: 11 Basic Points of Online Ride-Hailing Regulation

Tulus views that online based ride-hailing services could only manage to facilitate the public’s need for accessibility, which means that they are easier to get compared to conventional taxis. They are still considered unable to fulfill other public needs such as safety, affordability, and service standards in order to guarantee consumer’s comfort.

The fare of online ride-hailing services is not cheap, according to Tulus, the tariff could even be higher compared to conventional taxis. One of the reasons is caused by the implementation of a rush hour and non-rush hour tariffs.

YLKI chooses to focus more on the government’s attempt in supervising the implementation of its new regulation.

Online ride-hailing service has not even provided consumer’s protection, either it is a consumer’s loss of property or accident. “Even if a civil dispute with the consumer occurs, it will be solved via arbitration in Singapore. This is clearly unfair and unreasonable, it even harms the customer’s rights,” Tulus says.

Online based ride-hailing services have yet to guarantee the data protection of the consumer. “In the terms of contract, they even share consumer’s personal data to their business partners, such as using it as the promotional object. The Transportation Ministry should have regulated those aspects in the regulation.”

YOHANES PASKALIS