TEMPO.CO, Bandung - West Java acting Governor Gen. Comm. Mochamad Iriawan has yet provided any comments on the Constitutional Court`s rejection to acknowledge online ojek (motorcycle taxi) as a public transportation.

“It needs to be further studied, I can’t comment on it,” said Mochamad Iriawan today, July 3. According to Iriawan, he plans to ask the region’s technical team for further explanation on the Constitutional Court verdict.

Furthermore, Head of West Java transportation board Dedi Taufik said that the government must find an immediate solution to respond the court’s verdict considering that in fact, ojek has already existed and is needed by a large part of society as a public transport.

“The government definitely must search for a solution to fulfill the public’s need for transportation services that still conform to the safety aspect mentioned in Law No. 22/2009,” said Dedi on Tuesday, July 3.

Read: Jokowi Receives Online Ojek Representative at State Palace

Dedi explained that two-wheeled vehicles are not considered by Law No. 22 as a mode to transport people and items. This is also further asserted by Government’s Decree No. 74/2014 that also does not acknowledge motorcycles as a means of people's transport.

However, according to Head of the Organization of Land Transportation Owners (Organda) Dedeh T. Widarsih, the government is advised to revise the traffic law that regulates the existence of online ojek, especially considering that its status is in a grey area despite having served a large part of society.

Dedeh said that the Organda has no particular problem with the existence of online ojek, however, he warned the service companies to be more cautious since they are aware that online-based transportations are not protected by the law.

Ahmad Fikri