Grab Indonesia says it has terminated its partnership with a motorcycle taxi driver who was filmed assaulting a pedestrian after the latter told her to get her vehicle off the sidewalk.
The ride-hailing company confirmed that the driver, who was transporting a passenger at the time, was one of their drivers and said that they don’t tolerate such behavior from their partners.
“After conducting an investigation, we have permanently terminated our partnership with the driver for the blatant violation, which has gone viral on social media,” Grab Indonesia Marketing Director Mediko Azwar told Kompas yesterday.
“In line with our policies, all forms of violence or crime won’t be tolerated.”
Mediko added that Grab Indonesia will tighten its screening of partner drivers in light of this incident.
The driver’s identity was not revealed and it’s not yet known if the pedestrian she assaulted will press charges against her.
The video of the assault, taken on a sidewalk on Jalan Raya Jatiwaringin in East Jakarta, shows the victim reminding the driver that driving on the sidewalk is illegal. The driver, who really took offense at being told off, got off her motorcycle and hit the victim several times with her helmet.
Last year, Koalisi Pejalan Kaki, a group who have long campaigned for pedestrians’ rights in Indonesia, received similarly hostile treatment from motorcyclists when they set up human barricades on sidewalks to prevent motorcycles from driving on them. A video of motorcyclists trying to physically attack the group’s members became viral and prompted a month-long “operation” by traffic police to clamp down on the violation. But, as we’ve seen and experienced in Jakarta since then, a lack of enforcement and an unwillingness for motorcyclists to change their attitudes means motorcycles on sidewalks remain a problem to this day.
Under Jakarta’s regional laws, motorcyclists driving on sidewalks may be punished with one-month imprisonment or a IDR250,000 fine (US$17.32).
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