Let’s check GO-JEK: is a transportation service transforming urban livelihoods in Indonesia?

Methods

Summary

This study will involve a short survey of about 50 GO-JEK and other ojek and taxi drivers (i.e. non-GO-JEK drivers, a control group) to explore the implications of working for GO-JEK. The questions will gather basic demographic data (age, sex, place of origin, education, skills, etc.), focus on their current employment, income, benefits, access to services (shelter, credit, health, etc.), and perceptions about GO-JEK and other low-skilled employment. I will also try to conduct about 12 short, open-ended interviews with respondents of different stakeholder groups: drivers, regular riders, small and medium entrepreneurs who use GO-JEK services, planners, researchers, GO-JEK management, and civil society activists. All low-income respondents (GO-JEK drivers, users, riders, and civil society activists) will remain anonymous, and any other informant who so chooses. The interviews will aim to understand variations among different stakeholders' prevailing and changing perceptions about the work and lives of the urban poor, urban policies that impact them, if and how GO-JEK is altering the status quo, and if it signals potential to inform pro-poor policy-making. With the interview and survey data generated, I plan to utilize mixed methods analysis using Dedoose.

Challenges

Quality data on the lives and work of the urban poor, especially migrants, in developing countries are almost nonexistent. The proposed survey and interviews aim to partly overcome this data unavailability. Finding the right respondents within the limited time is always challenging for field research. Having done research in Surabaya for over a decade now, I am fortunate to have trustworthy and capable local contacts who will help prepare the groundwork for field research in advance to ensure the research plan's smooth execution.