Being a driver finally feels like being recognized as a legitimate profession

For many Green SM drivers in Indonesia, the program with Korlantas Polri was more than just a professional training session. For some, it was one of the few moments where the work they do every day felt recognized with a clearer sense of respect, responsibility, and professionalism.

“Road signs, traffic signals, yellow, green, red, blue… all of it was already familiar.” Dayat smiled as he recalled one of the exercises during the training program. After years of driving across Jakarta, he never imagined he would one day sit back in a classroom to revisit things he had already encountered every day on the road.

But by the end of the program, he found the program offered an opportunity to revisit everyday driving practices through a more professional and structured lens. The program reinforced the importance of discipline, awareness, and consistency on the road. “It was more about understanding again why those small things still matter every single day,” he said.

Inside the Indonesia Safety Driving Centre (ISDC), vehicles moved one by one through the driving evaluations under the supervision of Korlantas Polri officers. Some drivers focused quietly on the road signs ahead. Others, while waiting for their turn, exchanged stories about situations they regularly face in Jakarta traffic.

Most of the drivers attending the program had already spent years behind the wheel. Because of that, a few of them approached the training as if they were starting from zero. For many, it felt more like an opportunity to revisit the work they already do every day, from handling traffic situations to staying calm during long hours on congested roads.

Through collaboration between Green SM and Korlantas Polri, Indonesia’s National Traffic Police Directorate, Green SM driver partners participated in a professional development program that combined classroom sessions with practical driving evaluations. The program focused on traffic awareness, driving conduct, passenger service, and professional discipline.

The initiative is also part of a longer-term collaboration between Green SM and Korlantas Polri to help strengthen professional standards and service culture among ride-hailing drivers in Indonesia. The program is expected to continue in phases, aiming to reach thousands of Green SM driver partners across the country over time. The first rollout of the program involved 300 Green SM driver partners, with the broader initiative planned to gradually reach around 7,000 drivers across Indonesia in the coming phases.

In the public transportation industry, investment in people has long been considered an important part of the passenger experience. A study published in the Indonesian Journal of Road Safety in 2025 found that public transport satisfaction levels can exceed 80 percent when driver professionalism, behavior, and service standards are strengthened through structured development programs.

For Rachmat, the most important lesson had little to do with technical driving skills. “The most important thing is still staying calm on the road,” he said. “Once emotions take over, concentration disappears.”

In a city as crowded as Jakarta, where traffic pressure can last for hours, maintaining focus and emotional control throughout a journey can sometimes matter just as much as driving ability itself.

Elsewhere inside the Indonesia Safety Driving Centre (ISDC), amid the heat of the afternoon sun and the constant movement of vehicles around the training grounds, Hani sat quietly taking notes during the passenger service session. Despite the long hours and intense weather, the atmosphere remained focused and energetic. As one of the few women participating in the program, she said the part she remembered most was not the driving assessment itself, but the feeling that her work was being taken more seriously.

“Being a driver finally feels like being recognized as a real profession,” she said. “That makes me feel more confident about the work I do.”

For Hani, professionalism is not only about driving correctly. It is also about communication, discipline, and making passengers feel comfortable throughout the journey. “Everything is connected to our work,” she added. “Traffic rules, service, the way we treat passengers.”

For Green SM and Korlantas Polri, the initiative is not intended as a one-time training activity, but part of a broader long-term effort to help strengthen professional standards and service culture within Indonesia’s mobility sector.

But for many of the drivers who attended that day, what they brought home was not simply a certificate.

It was the feeling that the work they do every day is finally being seen with greater seriousness, respect, and pride as a real profession.