Investor Injection into Online Transportation Services

Based on data from *Techinasia*, at least 36 startups have received significant funding since 2014. Some of these new investors are private equity firms and angel investors from overseas. This substantial funding has also flowed into online transportation companies such as Go-Jek, Grab, and Uber, serving as a subsidy to keep passenger fares relatively low.

Uber received the largest injection of funds, reaching US$10.6 billion. This San Francisco-based internet transportation company has driver partners in various countries, including Indonesia. Grab received US$1.4 billion in funding. This Singaporean company, providing transportation services via an app, operates in six Southeast Asian countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Go-Jek, a domestic e-commerce company, received the largest funding among Indonesian companies, reaching US$550 million. However, Gojek's services are currently only available in Indonesia.

To ensure the healthy growth of domestic transportation businesses, the government will regulate upper and lower fare limits for app-based online taxi services like Go-Jek, Grab, and Uber. This will be included in the revision of the Ministry of Transportation Regulation Number 32 of 2016. However, the three online taxi service providers, Grab, Gojek, and Uber, have all rejected the fare limits scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2017. They have requested that the government postpone the implementation of this policy.