Ojol Dependency, Solution or Problem?

People have become dependent on online motorcycle taxis (ojol) for traveling. Besides being practical, online ojol can also sometimes be cheaper than public transportation fares. Ojol users feel that ojol drivers are the answer to the irregularities of public transportation in Jakarta, which lacks coverage and is unreliable. In fact, ojol is not the solution to the ideal mode of transportation in one city.

Ojol is not public transportation

Despite its massive use, until recently, ojol was not public transportation. According to Law 22/2009 on Road Traffic and Transportation, motorcycles are not public transportation. The reason is simple. Motorcycles are not safe enough to be used as long-distance transportation. In 2018 alone, 61 percent of motor vehicle accidents in Jakarta were caused by motorcycles.

However, because Jakarta's transportation system is not ideal, the government cannot prohibit the existence of ojol because the need is so great. Moreover, Jakarta's transportation has not yet implemented the concept of multimodal transportation. Taking public transportation is still constrained by long travel times, uncertain arrivals, connectivity issues and a lack of comfort. It is not surprising that people are already dependent on using Ojol because it is faster to get to their destination and more practical.

Where should ojol be?

However, this does not mean that motorcycles have no place in the hierarchy of the city's transportation system. When referring to the concept of trunk and feeder transportation. Ojol can be the feeder. This concept is a multimodal transportation system where trunk is the main mode of transportation that carries large numbers of passengers. While the feeder is a feeder mode of transportation whose route crosses the mass transportation route. The trunk and feeder concept emphasizes the seamless integration of public transportation. An example of the use of this concept is the existence of mass transportation modes such as Transjakarta Bus, Jakarta MRT, and KRL which act as trunk and Transjakarta feeder buses which become feeders. While Ojol can act as neighborhood transportation that takes passengers from the passenger bus stop home or to the station.

For this reason, the government must immediately fix Jakarta's transportation problems so that people return to using public transportation. The existence of affordable feeder transportation will be more beneficial for the community than the use of ojol. Reliable public transportation also has a scheduled arrival time between shuttles. That way, if public transportation is good, people's dependence on ojol will decrease.