Photo: Go-Jek
Go-Jek, the motorcycle taxi hailing service, has exploded in popularity since it released its smartphone application early this year. Green-jacketed Go-Jek drivers have become a common sight throughout the city and the company says it is processing over 5,000 orders per day.
However, one time of the day it is still hard to get a Go-Jek is during rush hour. That’s because Go-Jek calculated its fares for passengers using a flat rate. While other ojeks could charge a premium for their services due to high demand rush hour, Go-Jek drivers were getting paid below the market rate, making them reluctant to pick up passengers during that time.
In response, the company announced that, starting today, Go-Jek will begin charging customers more during peak hours.
“According to information from our drivers, our prices were below the market price. Starting today, we will impose peak price hours from 4pm to 7pm every working day from Monday to Friday. For those three hours, the minimum order fee, which was Rp 25,000, will rise to Rp 35,000,” the company said in a press release released today.
According to the company, the increase in rates was done in order to remain competitive and to provide better service to its customers.
“Many drivers complain if they do not receive remuneration commensurate to the congestion at these hours and this is the reason why drivers were reluctant to take orders during rush hour. We hope this policy can solve this problem,” the release stated.
The new policy is in line with the world’s fastest growing taxi app service, Uber, which introduced its “surge pricing” model in 2012 that automatically increases prices for its cars during times of high demand and low supply.
