Uber Jakarta Hits Speedbump as Police Detain Five Drivers
Jakarta. The Jakarta Police have arrested five drivers using the California-based car-hailing app Uber to transport passengers after receiving reports from the city's transportation agency and the Organization of Land Transport Operators, or Organda.
Shafruhan Sinungan, the chairman of the Jakarta chapter of Organda, said his organization had ordered eight cars via the mobile app with the intention of luring its drivers, but only five showed up and were handed over to the police.
Shafruhan underlined that the car service was operating illegally because its parent company, Uber Technologies, had yet to obtain an official permit to run a transportation business in Indonesia.
He also accused Uber of running an unfair business by not paying any taxes, which is why the company is able to offer lower fares compared to regular taxis.
The company's UberX service in Jakarta charges riders a base fare of Rp 3,000 (22 US cents) per ride and an additional Rp 2,000 for every kilometer, or Rp 300 per minute of waiting time. Uber Black, which offer riders premium cars, starts at Rp 7,000 and charges an additional Rp 2,850 per kilometer or Rp 500 per minute.
In comparison, taxis charges passengers at a base fare of Rp 7,000 per ride and an additional Rp 4,000 per kilometer.
Shafruhan said that the San Fransisco-based company violated a 2009 law on transportation and also the city's 2014 bylaw on public transportation.
"Today's action is a follow-up from our coordination with the police on June 8," Shafruhan said.
Benjamin Bukit, head of the city's transportation agency, said his office and Organda plan to launch their own investigation of Uber, which includes the task of finding the company's main office in the capital.
Uber's Jakarta operations currently run from a rented office space at the Pacific Place mall in the Sudirman Central Business District, South Jakarta.
Adj. Sr. Comr. Suharyanto, head of the police's detectives and general crimes unit, confirmed the arrest of the five drivers and said that officers would look into the allegations pressed by Organda.
The arrests mark the latest in a series of legal and regulatory speedbumps for Uber Technologies, which is already facing multiple lawsuits around the globe for bypassing industry regulations.
Shortly after its launch in Jakarta last year, Uber was branded illegal by Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama.
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