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GrabTaxi’s motorcycle service rides into its third city, offers free rides in Jakarta

GrabTaxi today launched its motorcycle taxi service GrabBike in Jakarta, with free rides on offer until the end of this month. Grabtaxi’s motorbike service first appeared in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi in Vietnam last year, making Indonesia’s capital its third trial destination. It does seem appropriate, given Jakarta’s infamous traffic situation. Informal motorcycle taxis, known as “ojek” in Indonesia, can be found on every street corner. The thought of entrusting your life to a motorcycle rider might scare the pants of some – ojeks are typically deemed unsafe – but GrabTaxi’s VP of marketing Cheryl Goh is clear that passenger safety is “of utmost importance” to the company. To demonstrate this, GrabTaxi promises to provide medical insurance for all GrabBike passengers and drivers, which is a first for the taxi hailing company. Riders will also be provided with helmets, face masks, hair nets and raincoats. At the same time, the safety standards that apply to GrabTaxi – safety, reliability, and speed – will also cover its motorcycle hailing counterpart. “It is crucial to us that our users always feel secure and trust us when they engage our services,” Goh adds.

Upon booking confirmation, passengers can share their ride details in real-time with their loved ones via the Share My Ride function of the GrabTaxi app. All rides are trackable, and should anything untoward happen, Goh assures Tech in Asia that they “can quickly and easily track the motorcycle or taxi.” For now, GrabBike will only pick up customers in Kuningan and Setiabudi, but drop-off destinations can be anywhere within Jakarta. Users can access free rides in the next two weeks simply by selecting GrabBike as the vehicle type in the GrabTaxi app.

GrabBike isn’t the first of its kind in Indonesia. Go-Jek, for example, has been around since 2011, but only early this year launched its Android and iOS apps. Prior to GrabBike’s entry, it was the only ojek startup in Indonesia with its own smartphone app. It has roughly 800 motorcycle riders, and also tracks passengers in real-time via its mobile apps. “We do still face the challenge of changing the mindset of Indonesians to move away from street hailing and utilize the safer and easier method of e-hailing using GrabBike,” adds Goh. She is, however, confident that users will come once the benefits are realized.