The Forgotten Unsung Hero: Online Ojek
- Izzan Fathurrahman
- Jun 4, 2020
- 3 min read
Amidst the massive exposure of the corona outbreak in the country and globally in general, there is an underrated yet extremely significant hero among us, online ojek. These people are the most vulnerable actor due to undetected (and hopefully not so massive) spread of the virus.
Taking into account in the Greater Jakarta (Jabodetabek) only, this informal mode of transportation consists of approximately 1.25 million drivers and they serve as a feeder in the poor interconnected formal public transportation system. Acting as a connecting mode means they normally gather and pick up passengers at the train or bus station and any other mass gathered location. Simply in general, they work in the high risked contaminating area.
I did interviews with several drivers from different companies and within the current online ojek ecosystem, averagely they can take at least eight passengers in a day. This number is based on the assumption that one driver works eight hours in a day and they carry one passenger within an hour.
Multiply the number with 1.25 million drivers, that is at least the possibility of the drivers to be infected or to be an undetected spreader of the virus. This number only accounts for the Jabodetabek area. In total, there are up to three million drivers in a country. These people have at least eight times risky chance among normal people to be an infected and a spreader of the virus.
Serious action should be taken by the companies and the state in answering this problem. Research from CSIS and Tenggara Strategics shows online ojek generates IDR 5.73 trillion to the consumer surplus. Started as an alternative solution for the inadequate fully-coverage transportation system, online ojek has transformed into an integrated part of people’s daily lives and helps to maintain above seven percent growth of Indonesian respective transportation and warehouse sectors. Yet, in the middle of public and consumer panic of the virus outbreak, these unsung heroes barely get the spotlight.
Expecting the country’s lockdown mechanism is even harder to imagine the effect on online ojek since these people live on the daily wage. Unlike the industrial workers who can simply work from home while at the same time still entitled to the companies’ benefits, these drivers cannot. Perhaps, this is the time to start considering this model of business amidst this catastrophic outbreak. Just as those white-collar workers who suddenly realize those three hours mingle is not that necessary in building a stronger network or that one-hour meeting can be effectively discussed through email, maybe this is the reflective moment for thinking the whole working ecosystem of this online platform.
Several issues have been raised regarding the online transportation in these past few years, such as tariff war, lack of legal standing and excessive supply of the drivers. Some small protests also lately emerge in social media regarding the technical problem of one applicator. It is difficult to say the current online ojek ecosystem is still as great as before. Now due to the virus threat, the vulnerable working situation of these drivers has become worst and this should be addressed.
In the bigger picture, what happens to the online ojek reflects the fragile informal economy of our country in facing a pandemic. An unpleasant fact, 57.27 percent of Indonesian workers are informal. This should be an evaluation of the country to rethink about a whole market-welfare integrated economic system. We should not rely on the informal economy and they should be properly regulated.
We are not ready for the lockdown, these daily wagers need to be found a solution if the demand suddenly rapidly decrease or at worst, the whole economic transaction collapse for an uncertain period. Back to the online ojek, the companies as the determining agency in shaping the working ecosystem and the state as the regulator should be responsible for providing mitigation and safety regulation plan amidst this extraordinary pandemic situation.
In this situation, the customer as the one who is truly benefitted should stand hand-in-hand with the drivers to raise this issue. Not only because these people are the front-line humans in interacting with the virus, but because they have been being our saviors. As the company heroically and proudly introduce, they are our late-night hunger heroes and they are the one who never turns their back when your spouse is too lazy to drive in the middle of the rain. They deserve our attention.
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