TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government’s plan to introduce a newly revised regulation for the online-based taxi that will take effect on April 1, 2017, could potentially increase the number of bad credits in terms of car purchasing. According to Go-Jek Commissioner, Patrick Walujo, determining fare limit not based on the principle of a healthy competition will only hurt online ride-hailing drivers.
Currently, the number of online ride-hailing fleets operating throughout Indonesia has reached a staggering 250,000 units. Patrick predicts that the average car owner purchased their cars with a Rp3 million installment per month.
“Assuming that there are 150,000 units that were purchased through credit, the amount of installment would reach Rp450 billion per month. If that goes on for a year, potential unpaid installments will reach Rp5.4 trillion,” he said.
Online taxi providers contribute Rp7.5 trillion for domestic car sales. The number is based on the 75,000 units that are currently listed in their database, with each vehicle’s average selling price of Rp100 million.
According to Patrick, the revised policy regarding the lower and upper limit fares will significantly reduce the driver’s income. Not only that, he said that the mechanism of determining the fare limit is baseless. “If the rules are enforced per April 1, 2017, they will die out.”
Chairman of the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU), Syarkawi Rauf, assessed that the tariff provision will cause an increase in transportation costs. He views that controlling the lowest fare is a disincentive for the companies and can potentially weaken their abilities in innovating.
“It’s like forcing consumers to bear the inefficiency of transportation operators.”
The Transportation Ministry will give a three-month adaptation period to online taxi operators and drivers. Despite this, the new regulation will still take effect starting on April 1, 2017.
This will cause loan providers to be even more cautious in disbursing their loans to avoid increasing the number of bad credits.
VINFDRY FLORENTIN | REZKI ALVIONITASARI | PUTRI ADITYOWATI
