The Indonesian capital is threatening to shut down controversial smartphone car-hailing service Uber due to licensing issues a week after it officially launched in the city, an official said yesterday.
“In our opinion, the service Uber provides is just like a taxi service, but it doesn’t have a license to operate as one in this city,” Jakarta Transport Agency Director Muhammad Akbar said. “Registered taxis in Jakarta have to meet certain standards, including some to do with safety, so if Uber wants to operate here, it must be held to the same standards — otherwise it’s not fair.”
Authorities are concerned that Uber’s service will undercut the current market for taxis and that the company may evade tax if not registered legally, Akbar said.
The agency is working with the Indonesian Ministry for IT and Communications to have the app shut down, he said.
The California-based app, which operates in 170 cities spread across dozens of countries, has already faced significant resistance in Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Seoul, where regulators accuse it of unfair competition and a lack of standards.
On Tuesday, a political strategist who ran US President Barack Obama’s winning campaign in 2008 hopped on board at Uber, a move that shows the firm has no intention of backing down on Internet-age car services.
David Plouffe is to become senior vice president of policy and strategy at the San Francisco-based firm beginning late next month, Uber said.
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