Five Uber drivers arrested in Jakarta

Markit

Indonesia joins the long lines of all those scared to death of modern technology and advances in doing business. Sharp contender for the "Most Short-Sighted/Myopia prize".

balinews

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. ADVERTISING 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. Uber Jakarta Hits Speedbump as Police Detain Five Drivers - The Jakarta Globe

ronb

It's currently an issue in Australia. It seems that both Airbnb and Uber are negotiating with the tax office which seems a bit different from the Jakarta "let's lure and arrest them" approach. Will be interesting to watch it all unfold. Using the Uber app you can watch Uber cars moving around in south Bali - they are mostly near the airport. Uber the loser, Airbnb the winner in new tax office crackdown on digital economy - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Markit

Astonishing how quickly the slow-witted will go to enormous effort to stop some innovation. I always wonder if the same effort was put into learning how to successfully use those same innovations whether the 3rd world would still exist.

davita

What is surprising is you thinking some people are slow-witted. Those slow-witted, who are challenging Uber, are from California, Massachusets, Germany, France, Holland, Milan, India and S. Korea.....to name a few!

Markit

And your point is? Luddites leanings and stupidity are not restricted by borders or race.

davita

Markit wroteAnd your point is? Luddites leanings and stupidity are not restricted by borders or race.

Your post, blaming all those slow-wits, reminds me of Welshman Robert Owen who, in the 1800s, innovated a hair-brained scheme in Indiana called 'Harmony'. When it failed he blamed everyone else by saying... "All the world is queer save thee and me, and even thou art a little queer".:icon_e_biggrin: