Motorcycle taxis aka ojeks are a ubiquitous sight in Jakarta. They can be found on almost any busy corner and are an essential part of the city’s transport system, being the only viable method for many people to navigate around the capital’s infamous macet.
But Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said he thinks that at some point in the foreseeable future, ojeks will disappear, or at least see their numbers greatly diminished.
That is because Ahok is optimistic that Jakarta’s public transportation infrastructure will improve so much in the future that demand for ojeks will start to decrease rapidly.
While that level of improvement may sound impossible to many, Ahok sort of has to believe it. He and his administration are working on many improvements to public transportation, including the creation of the mass rapid transit system as well as upgrades to the Transjakarta and busses, that the governor believes will make public transport a viable and cheaper option for everybody eventually.
But Ahok also said that the city will still need ojeks for quite a while as an ad-hoc way to connect modes of public transportation that have not yet been fully integrated.
“No (we are not against ojeks) because ojeks are needed to bring people from stations to home, like a feeder,” Ahok said as quoted by CNN Indonesia.
Ahok said the government would work to protect ojek services like Go-Jek and GrabBike, which have officially registered with the government, especially from traditional ojeks who have reportedly threatened drivers for the app based ojek services a lot of problems.
“They (Gojek and Grab Bike) should be protected since they have licenses. They should be protected by the police. Tomorrow I am going to the police station to discuss it,” Ahok said.
