Passenger Stories Reveal "Ride-Hailing Crisis": Orders Cancelled Multiple Times by Drivers
Jakarta — A private sector employee named Jeje, 23, reported experiencing the phenomenon recently dubbed the “ride-hailing crisis”, characterised by difficulty obtaining ride-hailing drivers during peak hours, particularly in late afternoons approaching iftar time.
The situation has resulted in Jeje’s orders being repeatedly cancelled by drivers. “I once waited 20 minutes and had my order cancelled by drivers three times before someone accepted it. I was trying to return home from a shopping mall late in the evening, so I was honestly a bit scared,” Jeje said when contacted on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
Beyond the lengthy waiting periods, he also complained about repeated cancellations causing fares to surge on the application. “When I finally got a ride, the price had increased by 3,000 rupiah. I even had a trip that started at 19,000 rupiah but kept getting cancelled, and eventually I paid 26,000 rupiah,” he said.
Similarly, Ilham, 26, a Cengkareng resident operating a restaurant with online delivery services, also reported struggling to secure ride-hailing drivers. He observed that the driver search duration for food deliveries frequently exceeded the estimated times displayed in the application.
“It’s difficult too. Usually we already have a driver before the food is ready, but now the food is waiting for the driver,” Ilham said.
Even after securing a driver, they typically deliver two or more orders simultaneously, affecting delivery duration and food quality upon customer receipt.
“Sometimes customers pay for priority delivery, expecting their order to be the only one, but the driver arrives with another order. It takes longer to reach the customer, and the food arrives cold,” he added.
From a consumer perspective, Jeje views ride-hailing fares as still reasonable despite recent increases compared to previous years.
Responding to consumer complaints, Yanto, 42, a ride-hailing driver who frequently operates in the Palmerah area, West Jakarta, confirmed that many of his colleagues choose to disable their applications or decline orders during certain hours.