The Crucial Role of Algorithms in Online Ride-Hailing Platforms

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -For the past 10 months, Firman has been sleeping in his car, which he is still paying off in installments. A migrant from Palembang, South Sumatra, to the capital, Firman works as an application-based taxi driver for platforms such as GrabCar or GoCar. Sleeping in his car allows him to save on rent or boarding-house fees. That way, he can send money home to his wife and three school-age children in his hometown. Firman works up to 18 hours a day. At 11pm, he turns off the app and looks for a 24-hour gas station where he can park the car and close his eyes. At 5 am, he wakes up and turns the app back on, waiting for orders to come in. Before becoming an online taxi driver, Firman worked as a dump truck driver for an oil and gas company in South Sumatra. In October 2015, he was involved in an accident on the job. His left arm was broken and could no longer be used to drive large trucks. Relying on one arm, Firman left the company and began driving an online taxi in Palembang. “Then I moved to Jakarta because Palembang could not provide enough (orders),” he said.