Ojek, or sometimes is spelled and written as ojeg, is a term often referred only to Indonesia Motorcycle Taxi.
Actually, ojek doesn’t only refer to motorbike taxi.
The origin of the term of ojek came from an Indonesian word “ngobyek”. This word means as “a side job”.
The story of ojek started when a motorcycle owner utilized his motorbike to earn extra income by taking passengers after his main work finished. In Indonesian, the word that represents “a side job” is “ngobyek”.
Gradually, the term changed to “ngojek” (which is still used until nowadays) to refer the activity of using a service of bike or motorbike taxi. The ojek itself refers to a profession of riding a passenger to wherever they want in exchange for money.
In some part of Indonesia, especially in West Java, where Sundanese ethnicis the majority, the taxi is called as Ojeg (with “g”). This is an abbreviation from “Ongkos Ngajegang” or “Straddling Fare”. As you know, when you ride a bike or a motorcycle, then you must straddle.
There are actually two types of two wheeler taxi. The one is the common ojek, that use a motorcycle as the vehicle and the other is bicycle ojek. The last one can be still found in some Jakarta especially near the Old Town and The Jakarta Kota Train Station.
Ojek, Indonesia Motorcycle Taxi Is Informal
Yes, it is an informal one. There is no license needed to become this cart bike operators. Indonesian law doesn’t specifically admit about the existence of this type of transportation. All Indonesia Motorcycle Taxi operators are only bound by common traffic laws .
Majority ojek operators are individuals. They usually utilize their own vehicle to provide the service. In some case, operators rent a motorcycle from a boss.
The first way is the most common considering to own a motorcycle is so easy, especially with aggressive move of leasing companies or banks. The scheme to buy it is so simple that sometimes with only paying Rp. 600,000-700,000 Down Payment, someone can immediately take a new motorcycle back home.
The growing numbers of motorcycles owner has contributed a lot to the rapid growth of this informal transportation.
Two Types of Indonesian Motorcycle Taxi
Before two years ago, most ojek are static. A group of operators stayed in a specific public place such as train or bus stations, housing complex or wherever considered as unreachable by other public transportation. Ojek provides an alternative service for them who doesn’t won’t to walk to a bus stop or prioritize their time over money.
Usually, to become a member of an ojek group, someone must pay to a leader of the group or someone considered to be the “ruler” of the area. The amount to be paid depends on the economic value, more crowded the area the higher the money. Of course, it is not openly admitted.
They wait for passengers in the place and are not allowed to overlap with another ojek spots. For example, if they stay in station “A”, then they can not take passengers in station “B”. There is ethics among them to follow. If someone breaks the unsaid rule, then it can cause friction between ojek groups.
However, this system has finally been breached.
The presence of technology, in form of smartphone and gadget has changed the game inside Indonesia Motorcycle Taxi community, especially in Jakarta and surrounding city.
An Indonesian, named Nadiem Makarim launched an application called as Go-Jek. With this system, passengers do not have to come to an “ojek station”. They now can just order a service through the application and an operator will pick them up wherever they are.
Some other similar service follow not later. A name can be said such as Grab Bike to provide the same service. Online Indonesia Motorcycle Taxi can be distinguished easily because of the uniform they wear (a jacket and helmet)
The application is available in Google Play Store and can be downloaded into your smartphone.
The Fare of Ojek
It depends.
If you use a stationed ojek, then you will have to bargain with the operators. Usually, the fare is decided by the distance of the required service. The farther it is, the higher the fare required by operators. Therefore, knowledge about the area and the route can be important to get the cheapest fare.
If you use, the online ojek, the fare will be shown on your screen. If you agree, then the service will immediately come to ride you to a place you want.
Tips Of Using Ojek Service
Several things that you must remember if you want to use Ojek service.
It is yet indeed one of the best way to go through overcrowded traffic, especially in peak hours. Unfortunately, in order to achieve this, many operators has become reckless and ignorance.
Many of them consciously break laws. Riding on pavements, against the traffic flow riding and speeding are some of annoying attitude they commonly do. It doesn’t include many of stationed operators do not provide a spare helmet for their passengers.
So, please be prepared. It can be an adrenalin pumping ride. However, if you are fine with this, then ojek is one of the fastest way to arrive at your destination.