The ride-hailing trio offer fixed-price rides that take haggling out of the equation, a welcome change for former bajaj customer Tetty Iskandar.“Customers don’t like to get wet,” tuk-tuk driver Zainuddin said.And vehicle owners often choose to leave their ride at home, opting instead for a fixed-price motorcycle that can zip China delivery series through Jakarta’s epic traffic congestion – at a bargain-basement prices.That is threatening bajaj – not to mention regular cabs and ubiquitous motorbike taxis known as ojek – which arrived in Indonesia during the 1970s.That could inflate its army of motorcycle taxis, private cars and other services – from massage and house cleaning to grocery shopping and package deliveries – all available at users’ fingertips.
By contrast, Go-Jek alone claims 900,000 drivers and some 15 million weekly active users.In central Jakarta, bajaj line a curb, their drivers smoking or sleeping as swarms of motorbike drivers sporting Go-Jek or Grab windbreakers zip by on their way to collect customers. And you would already have done bargaining a lot in the market.“I haven’t taken a bajaj in years,” said the 35-year-old housewife, who used to ride the three-wheelers to go grocery shopping.“I cannot shift to an app-based motorcycle taxi because of my age,” said driver Sutardi.”.The motorised rickshaw quickly made inroads under its namesake company, which hailed from India.Google and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Temasek have announced investments in Go-Jek, which has been valued at as much as 5 billion although it’s little known outside Asia.
“It’s not good for people when the rain comes, but bajaj drivers will be happy.The name bajaj is now inked into Jakarta’s lexicon after supplanting traditional bicycle taxis.Even if they wanted to switch to ride-hailing apps, it’s too late for some older drivers.Still, bajaj backers point out that the little tuk-tuks are safer than motorcycles which have higher injury and fatality rates.Southeast Asia’s ride-hailing market more than doubled in two years to some 5 billion in 2017 and it’s expected to reach 20 billion by 2025, with Indonesia set to account for some 40 percent of it, according to research done by Google and Temasek. Sometimes I felt so tired and just wanted to get home.