Govt to Consult with Experts over Online Transportation Bill

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said that he would consult with experts to address the issue with a bill on online-based transportation services.

Earlier, the Supreme Court (MA) accepted a petition demanding the court to conduct a judicial review on the Transportation Minister’s Regulation No. 26/2017.

Budi hopes that the dialogue with the experts and other authorities, such as the Law and Human Rights Ministry, will result in a solution to the problem.

“We can’t reveal the solution yet. In a week or two, we will gather experts to ask for their inputs,” Budi said in Jakarta today, August 23.

With the Supreme Court’s decision, a number of regulations to be applied to online-based transportation will be revised. The regulations are, among others, related to organization, minimum and maximum tariff, vehicle registrations on behalf of a legal body, bans on promotion and others.

The petition was filed by at least six public transportation drivers.

Earlier, Transportation Ministry spokesperson Hengki Angkasawan said that at least 14 articles in the new bill contradict higher laws and regulations, namely Law No. 20/2008 on micro, small and medium businesses and Law No. 22/2009 on traffic and land transportation

According to Hengki, MA declared that the 14 articles have no binding legal forces. MA later ordered the Ministry to remove the articles.

Budi expressed his appreciation to MA for issuing the decision. However, Budi said that the government is aiming at governing online-based transportation services for the sake of public’s interests.

CAESAR AKBAR