Recently, a new breakthrough has emerged in terms of public transportation, namely online motorcycle taxis that can be ordered through our smart phones. This online motorcycle taxi is very different from the traditional motorcycle taxi system that has existed since the 1960s. In traditional ojek, the price must be agreed between the passenger and the driver. However, online motorcycle taxis offer the use of tariffs according to the distance traveled.
Since the introduction of the online motorcycle taxi application "Go-Jek" in 2014, the company has dominated the motorcycle taxi market in urban areas. This is influenced by services with relatively cheap rates and registered drivers. Customers can order motorcycle taxis and other services through an application on their smartphone. According to Go-Jek (2017), there are currently around 300 thousand Go-Jek drivers in big cities in Java and Bali.
The existence of Go-Jek and other similar transportation application companies, such as GrabBike Bike and Uber in big cities is quite controversial. Problems that arose, for example, were debates among high-ranking officials which had led to the cancellation of one of the regulations of the Minister of Transportation regarding the prohibition of online transportation applications because the government had not been able to provide fast and proper mass transportation for residents. Other debated reasons, such as employment, are also used, although many argue that customers of this new mode of transportation are simply moving from a stable public transportation provider to a more unregulated provider.
Regarding this phenomenon, there is research from Robbie Peters (anthropologist from the University of Sydney) conducted in early 2016 in several pockets of poverty in Jakarta and Surabaya. The study showed that many of the men aged between 18-60 years who were previously unemployed and underemployed had become Go-Jek drivers in the last six months. Although it is natural for informal sector workers to change jobs when better opportunities arise, the phenomenon of becoming a Go-Jek driver is quite significant considering the scale of the shift and the very fast time and political shock it causes.
Association Prakarsa also conducted a quick survey in the area around Jabodetabek in May 2016 of 250 online motorcycle taxi driver respondents to describe the profiles of those working in this sector. The interim results of this survey show that those who join as online motorcycle taxi drivers are men aged 20 to 60 years with the majority of high school educational backgrounds, and previously worked as informal and formal sector workers who are looking for a better income.
Based on this previous research, researchers from the University of Sydney, Association Prakarsa and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) attempted to conduct research on workers in the online transportation sector in Jakarta and Surabaya in early 2017. This research aims to understand how the issue of the development of online motorcycle taxi services relates to employment issues in big cities, such as Jakarta and Surabaya. In addition, this research also wants to see the perceptions of commuters who use their services. It is hoped that the results of this research will provide arguments for encouraging evidence-based policies by looking at the trend of online transportation in Jakarta and Surabaya.
This research resulted in case studies conducted with several methods. These methods include interviews, surveys and observations of motorcycle taxi drivers, as well as a comparison of the practices and conditions of online transportation workers that are currently spreading. This research was also conducted by interviewing transportation consumers about their perceptions of the use of this transportation service as well as interviews with several important key informants.
