TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Transportation Ministry said that online based taxi companies should use yellow-colored license plates similar to conventional public transportation companies.
"We want to promote equality between app-based taxis and conventional taxis," said Pudji Hartanto, Director General of Land Transportation of the Transportation Ministry on Wednesday, April 27, 2016.
Pudji claimed that the use of yellow license plate for public transportation is regulated in Law No. 22/2009 on Road Traffic. Pudji also stated that providing public transportation business license to companies using private registration plate vehicles would be violating the law.
Pudji said that he also wanted to prevent further conflict following the recent massive protest by conventional taxi companies. "We don't want to create more dispute," Pudji said.
The Transportation Ministry explained that app-based taxi companies will not be allowed to regulate their own tariffs. Instead, app-based taxi companies can only negotiate tariffs with their partner, which is the fleet owner. However, the Ministry will not be able to determine any upper or lower limit for the tariffs. "The same regulation applies in the United States, to promote equality," Pudji said.
Pudji said that online-based taxi companies in other countries are also subject to strict regulations because it is considered to violate the rights of conventional taxi companies. We also study similar problems occurring in other countries," Pudji said.
AVIT HIDAYAT