Ojol Drivers Receive BHR Rp 200,000–Rp 250,000; Drivers: Just Remove It, Then Fix the Rules

JAKARTA — News that the Bantuan Hari Raya (BHR) for online ojol drivers is not always welcomed in the field. Some drivers argue the annual incentive is not commensurate with the daily deductions they incur from the app operator. For them, the main issue is not BHR ahead of Lebaran (Eid al-Fitr) but tariff regulations and deductions that are considered burdensome.

AMRI says he has just received BHR of Rp 200,000. However, he says there are more pressing issues than the annual incentive.

One of them is the argo — the fare to the pickup point — which has not been counted as the drivers’ income. In fact, Amri says the journey to the pickup location still incurs operating costs.

Similarly, Teguh, 36, who has worked for 11 years since the ojol service first appeared, says he received BHR of Rp 250,000. But he believes the amount is not commensurate with the deductions he must pay each month to the app operator.

‘We’re even paying the platform Rp 600,000 per month in deductions — the deduction comes from the Hemat programme, so the platform is not able to provide a programme that benefits drivers,’ he said.

‘Basically, if we get an order above 10, the platform takes Rp 20,000 from that Hemat programme. So they seek to extract extra money from the drivers, not from the customers,’ he added.

If calculated over 30 days, those deductions could reach Rp 600,000 per month, far higher than the BHR received annually.

‘That’s only from the Hemat; not including the journey deductions of 20 per cent per trip. We’re being cut constantly. Fundamentally, the management’s creativity seems aimed at drivers; their ideas have stagnated in seeking money, so they end up squeezing the drivers again,’ Teguh said.