10,000 Jakarta taxi drivers to protest against Uber and Grab
Over 10,000 taxi drivers in Indonesia's capital are expected to gather in a massive protest against ride-hailing apps Uber and Grab on Tuesday.
The demonstration is five times the size of last week's protest, which drew 2,000 drivers to the city centre to voice their concerns against these apps taking jobs away from them.
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The drivers are part of local trade group the Land Transportation Drivers Association (PPAD), and have applied to the police for a permit for the rally. They were planning to gather Monday, but postponed it when they failed to achieve permission earlier, said the Jakarta Globe.
The PPAD spokesperson confirmed that they have now been granted the permit for Tuesday, so protesters are ready to start their march at 9 a.m. in front of the House of Representatives Complex in South Jakarta.
The association's reps are planning to meet with the IT ministry during the protest.
The drivers' dissatisfaction has won a listening ear at least with some ministers. A day after last week's rally, Indonesia's transportation minister, Ignasius Jonan, recommended to the IT ministry that ride-hailing apps be banned altogether, citing legal violations.
Private drivers' fates hang in the balance as government officials deliberate over what to do.
Jonan has not been supportive of ride-hailing apps in the past. In September 2015, he said private vehicles that were picking passengers up had to be registered as public transportation vehicles, effectively singling out Uber and Grab cars, since they lack the right type of licence.
Private drivers with the apps haven't been officially ruled as illegal, but their fates hang in the balance as government officials deliberate over what to do, while public drivers continue to make louder protests against them.
Both Uber and Grab had reasserted their legal statuses in the country when Mashable approached them for clarification last week.
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Topics Uber
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
