Gig economy workers in Indonesia are developing and installing apps to combat the abusive practices of their employers.
It seems to me that if the Gypsy cab and food delivery drivers are really independent contractors (they are not) then installing software to rat-f%$# the people rat-f%$#ing them should be their God given right:
The McDonald’s on Jalan Salemba Raya, Jakarta’s crowded main thoroughfare, is a magnet for food delivery orders. On any given day, a dozen or so app-based delivery drivers—locally called ojol—wait in the parking lot. Inch by inch, they try to move as close as they can to the center of the lot, desperate to have the matching algorithms recognize their proximity and assign them an order.
But even more drivers are there virtually, using GPS-spoofing apps to position themselves right in the center of the McDonald's lot while they physically wait under nearby shelters. Using these unofficial apps, known as tuyul, drivers can set their GPS pins at the optimal location they would like orders from, without having to physically drive there.
In Jakarta, these kinds of unauthorized apps are a common tool-of-the-trade among app drivers working for Gojek, a $10 billion delivery and transport "super app" that is the Indonesian equivalent of Postmates, Apple Pay, Venmo, and Uber. Though Indonesia is by far its biggest market, Gojek operates in more than 200 cities in Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand.
“These are people in need who have to hold on to their jobs on difficult streets," one driver told Motherboard, explaining why drivers resort to using these apps. "They are not doing this for fun but because they have no other option.”
Like many drivers interviewed, the driver asked not to be identified, fearing loss of work and retaliation by Gojek (The experiences ojol drivers have had with Gojek were collected both as part of my dissertation research at MIT and then later, for this story.)
Over the last six years, a burgeoning underground market for unauthorized, third-party Gojek apps has emerged. Named after a child-like spirit in Indonesian folklore that helps his human master earn money by stealing, each tuyul app responds to specific needs of drivers to help make their jobs less miserable.
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The GPS-spoofing apps remain the most popular type of tuyul apps, with some having more than 500,000 downloads on the Google Play app store.
After Gojek's app was launched in 2015, many drivers needed help with small technical glitches and app malfunctions. Drivers who were more tech-savvy started helping other drivers with technical support. Eventually, these drivers began being known as "IT Jalanan"—or "IT of the Road"—creating a form of localized tech support that was easier to access than Gojek’s own tech support.
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These apps can be downloaded in various places. Some app developers have listed them on Google Play. Others have websites where drivers can download the application file directly, and a much larger proportion are sold directly through driver groups on WhatsApp and Telegram. There are two options for payment: a single payment with no "post-sale care," or a monthly membership fee which gives the driver access to an online group for technical support and updates.
Extensive manuals are shared on how to prepare an Android phone for the unofficial apps. Instructions include how to gain root access on phones, clearing the device's cache, and downloading a host of other applications which prevent detection by Gojek's system. If help is needed with any of these technical requirements, drivers can ask other technically-savvy drivers or get support from the developer.
While Gojek has constantly tried to ban tuyul, drivers who use the apps argue tuyul helps them do their jobs better, and are better designed to help them tackle the problems they regularly face as drivers.
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Helpful as they may be, the unauthorized apps open up drivers to a host of risks. For one, there is no way for drivers to verify whether the services they pay for will actually work, and there's no telling when Gojek will ban the use of an app they purchased. Since tuyul developers can earn millions of rupiah ($1 is roughly 14,500 rupiah), it is in their interest to hype up their products and charge high membership fees.
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Gojek could not be reached for comment on this story.
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The experiences of Indonesia's ojol drivers are not unique. Across the world, app-based workers are precariously employed via algorithmic systems that give them little control over their daily work, forcing them to constantly fight for agency with tricks and hacks. In that sense, tuyul app developers are responding to segments of the driver population that Gojek either does not reach out to, or hears about too late.
In other words, they are doing the same thing that causes startups to be hailed as innovative disruptors. After all, Gojek, too, was once just a startup, accused of cheating the system while claiming to make the jobs of motorbike drivers easier and more efficient—why is it any different when drivers try to do the same?
If your business model is predicated on screw your drivers, don't be surprised if your drivers fight back, and don't be surprised if the customer is caught in the crossfire.
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