TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The decision made by Transportation Minister to ban the use of Low Cost Green Car (LCGC) for online-based taxi shows the government’s inconsistency.

The policy made with the pretext of protecting consumers is in fact contradictory with other regulations.

Regulation of the Transportation Minister Number 32 of 2016 on the Provisions of Human Transport with Motorize Public Transport Not in the Route stipulates the limit of machine capacity of 1,300 cc for vehicle used for online-based taxis.

This limit is above the capacity of LCGC, set within the range of 980-1,200 cc.

The ministry reasoned that the body of an LCGC that is small makes it unstable if they are driven with a high speed.

Another reason is that the small machine capacity makes the air conditioner cannot function maximally.

This policy is contradictory with the fact that every unit of LCGC released to the market has passed a series of test before they are finally declared roadworthy.

The government’s argument can be further rebutted by the testing done by the government itself.

It is recorded that there are 775 units of LCGCs that have passed the vehicle roadworthiness test done by the Jakarta Transportation Agency.

It means that LCGC cars that have met the requirements to transport passengers are in accordance with their capacity.

As for the comfort of the cabin and air conditioner also needs to be questioned.

At least, until now, consumers never complained about the condition of cabins of LCGC.

As for the claim that the capacity of the machine affects the capacity of the car’s AC must be proven scientifically.

The ban is also not in line with the government’s goal to initiate environment-friendly cars.

Regulation of the Industry Minister Number 33 of 2013 stipulates minimum requirements of fuel consumption for LCGC is 20 kilometer per liter.

It means that the use of LCGC as an online-based taxi is beneficial to cut the use of fuel.

The government should review this policy, not only because it is contradictory with the result of the testing of vehicles but the ministry should also consider that many online-based taxi companies have bought LCGC.

To ensure safety and comfort of the passengers, the Transportation Ministry can take other ways, for example by setting the maximum age of online-based taxis.

In order to prevent online-base taxi from flooding the streets due to LCGC cars, the government set the limit number of online-based taxi that may be in operation.

The principle is that the regulation for the business of online-based taxi must be made so as not to bring difficulties for business players.

A number of obligations have been imposed to them, starting from the obligation to join a transportation business entity, passing road worthiness text, owing SIM A for drivers, and the vehicle ownership documents registered with the name of the business entity.

The obligation should not be added with the restriction for LCGC.

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