Non-Fixed-Route Public-Transportation Service Regulation Revised: Striking a Balance Between Conventional and Application-Based Transportation Services

After first being established back in 2010,[1]application-based transportation services have taken on an important role in the dynamics of Indonesian daily life, particularly within urban centers such as Jakarta. However, in spite of their rapidly rising popularity, these application-based transportation services have generated a lot of controversy, especially in terms of their legality.In order to ensure greater legal certainty for this new transportation paradigm and to therefore afford greater protection for both of customers and transportation companies alike, the Ministry of Transportation (“Ministry”) eventually issued RegulationNo. PM 32 of 2016on the Organization of Non-Fixed-Route Public-Transportation Services (“Regulation 32/2016”).[2]This regulation was mainly issued in order to address the controversy swirling around the legality of these new application-based transportation services and emerged in the wake of a high-profile strike and demonstration by Jakarta’s conventional taxi drivers.[3]However, in an attempt to accommodate the needs of stakeholders operating within transportation sector more effectively, the Ministry has now issued RegulationNo. PM 26 of 2017on the Organization of Non-Fixed-Route Public-Transportation Services (“Regulation 26/2017”).[4]In essence, this new regulation revises the framework originally set out under Regulation 32/2016 by making a number of essential revisions relating to the following areas:[5]