Interesting business model, but Jakarta is insanely dense (largest city in APAC) which is probably why its more profitable. In the U.S. you have urban sprawl and suburbs, which increase variable costs of delivery.
Jakarta has ridiculous urban sprawl, has worse traffic than any city in the US, and floods for months in the year. I lived there for years, it’s much harder to get around than LA or NY.
The driver doesn’t take on any liability at all, it’s all backed by the company. I’m not sure why you’re so keen to shit on this business when you don’t seem to know anything about it or the market it operates in.
Relax, I'm not attacking you or the business - you said this: "because with them the driver pays for the order, and then the customer pays the driver" which seems like a liability for the driver. It makes sense in a region that floods regularly.
They just handle the transaction. The system is technically exploitable from a driver perspective. Earlier this year a group of drivers were arrested for defrauding the company with hundreds of fake orders.