Judging the Competence of Bike Transportation Services in Jakarta

Mode of transportation with high maneuver capability is indeed essential in Jakarta, where everything needs to be done in seconds, not to mention the crowd it presents. During my brief discussion with GrabTaxi’s Head of Marketing Kiki Rizky, each major city in Southeast Asia has its own preferences when it comes to transportation. GrabTaxi’s internal research revealed that ojek is the most favorite mode of transportation  in Jakarta. This was actually found out first by Antar.id (previously Indojek) within last year’s second batch of Ideabox. Nonetheless, Go-Jek successfully implemented the idea first before the team did. Which one wins people’s heart?  

Ordering Method

Go-Jek had had a solid foundation as an ojek reservation service for years. After the app was launched, the distribution of order went real-time and equal, cutting their conventional lines, which was through SMS or phonecall. Go-Jek set Rp 25 thousand for the first 25 kilometers, and Rp 4 thousand for each kilometer afterwards. GrabBike also set Rp 25 thousand, only it’s for the first five kilometers.

In short, both apply competitive rates, not to mention the simple ordering process they preserve.

Payment Method

Both Go-Jek and GrabBike accept cash. However, Go-Jek also accepts Go-Jek Credit that can be used once customers run out of cash. On the other hand, GrabBika has yet supported cashless payment in Indonesia. The method is indeed not yet familiar to most of Indonesians, although it guarantees customers’ security and convenience way better.

Fleet Availability

As I described earlier, Go-Jek has gathered a massive amount of units even before the app got introduced and the number keeps significantly increasing, even though the team refused to tell the exact number.

Right on the launching day, GrabBike has owned nearly 1000 registered units. To attract more drivers, GrabBike offers 90-10 profit sharing scheme, more than Go-Jek’s which is 80-20.

User Experience

Go-Jek’s app displays the name and photo of the driver, as well as the map diplaying his current location although it’s not always precisely taken.

Meanwhile, GrabBike doesn’t require any additional app to be downloaded once users have already secured GrabTaxi app on their phone. The service does only display the driver’s license plate, but the precision is much better than Go-Jek’s.

Service Types

So far, GrabBike’s service is only usable around Kuningan-Setiabudi. No other services are being run, even though the potential is there. On the other hand, Go-Jek serves many types of services, including document, food (Go-Food), and grocery delivery. In this point, Go-Jek definitely wins the race.

Potential

GrabBike is under GrabTaxi, which is why they may possess better resources and capital. While Go-Jek has problems with Jakarta’s rush hour, GrabTaxi should seize the opportunity by expanding outside Kuningan-Setiabudi as soon as possible. However, the competition doesn’t only include them, but also other players, like HandyMantis and Antar.id. Innovation is undoubtedly essential in the competition.