Illegal means of public transportation must be stopped until they have obtained official operating licenses, Minister of Transportation Ignasius Jonan confirmed.

"Vehicles with no operational permits, vehicle roadworthy certificate (KIR), and pending tax payments are considered to be an illegal form of public transportation," Jonan stated here on Tuesday.

According to Transportation Ministrys Decree No. 35 of 2003, Article 1, point 3, any vehicle that is being used commercially by the public, either directly or indirectly, is considered to be a means of public transportation. As such, the driver of the vehicle must carry an operating permit and a copy of their business license in addition to their vehicle registration (STNK) and KIR. 

In accordance with Law No. 22 of 2009 on traffic and land transportation, every vehicle should be tested periodically.

The test is intended to fulfill the technical and roadworthy requirements.

The periodic test includes examination, physical testing of vehicles, and validation of test results. 

"This is illegal, and it must be stopped," the minister remarked.

Therefore, the minister has sent a letter to the Communications and Information Ministry to block popular application-based taxi services such as Uber and Grab Car as they lack operating permits.

However, the applications used by Uber and Grab Car have not been blocked by the Communications and Information Ministry.

The ministry has discussed the legal entities of those companies with the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises.

Earlier, thousands of drivers had rallied in front of the office of the Ministry of Communication and Informatics in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, demanding the blocking of online transportation service applications.

The drivers began congregating in front of the office at 1 p.m. local time, with their vehicles, including taxis, three-wheeled cabs known locally as "bajaj", vans, and minibuses being parked at the Monas Square nearby.

Some demonstrators stopped taxis that had continued to operate and forced their passengers to leave.

Some taxis that continued to operate during the demonstration had also been vandalized. A metro-mini bus was damaged, and rocks were found nearby.

"We were attacked just now in Semanggi area," the metro-mini driver revealed.(*)

Source: ANTARA