IN PHOTOS: Angry Jakarta taxi drivers violently protest ride-hailing apps

Zachary Lee

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IN PHOTOS: Angry Jakarta taxi drivers violently protest ride-hailing apps
Scenes of the protest show the demonstration turned violent as drivers stopped driver of ride-hailing apps to attack them

JAKARTA, Indonesia – On Tuesday, March 22, a protest organized by the Association of Public Transport Drivers (PPAD) against ride-hailing apps – Uber, Grab and the motorbike service Go-Jek – turned violent.

Here are scenes of the demonstration in Jakarta. All photos from the writer.

Thousands of taxi drivers gathered in Jakarta’s main roads at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and headed to the parliament building. Drivers yelled and waved rally signs, and blasted their horns throughout the protest.

An ojek rider was also attacked by taxi drivers during the protest, and was forced to get off his motorbike and run away.

Drivers smashed the rider’s helmet and overturned his motorbike then chased him.

Another rider wearing a Grab Bike jacket was stopped by taxi drivers. The drivers tried to take off his jacket.

“It is okay to protest peacefully but attacking is absolutely illegal,” Mohammad Iqbal, spokesman for the Jakarta Police, said. He added that police will surely move against those who engaged in illegal acts.

Several armed police with guns and riot shields guarded the parliament building.

The Jakarta Police estimated up to 6,000 drivers were involved protest while about 6,000 police were deployed to the streets.

Traffic jams sprouted up in Jakarta as taxi drivers occupied the main street. The demonstration was 3 times the size of last week’s protest. 

Driver Mustakim, working for Express Taxi, told Rappler that his earnings have dropped over 20% since Uber and Grab apps became popular.

“I hope the government would close down these apps because it is so hard to get passengers now,” he said. 

What do you think of the protest? Tell us in the comments below. – Rappler.com

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