Photo: Go-Jek
One day many years from now, we will tell our grandchildren about the Great Ojek App Price War of 2015, when you could ride an ojek anywhere in the capital for just Rp 15k or less. They’ll look at you wide-eyed in disbelief, and then shrug their shoulders and say “Who cares, grandpa?” before flying away on their Go-Jet.
At any rate, it’s a good time to be an ojek rider in Jakarta, as the two giants of the emergent online ojek industry, local outfit Go-Jek and Malaysia-based GrabBike, battle for the hearts of customers in Indonesia.
For quite a while, both companies have been offering absurdly low promo rates for customers to get them hooked on their services, with Go-Jek introducing a Rp 10k flat rate promo during Ramadan and GrabBike offering an even more ridiculously rate of Rp 5k, with the companies picking up the rest of the bill.
Analysts were wondering what would happen when both companies returned to their normal per-kilometer pricing structures and how many customers they would hang on to. But it looks like we won’t find out for a while, as both Go-Jek and GrabBike are extending their price promos for the foreseeable future.
Starting today, Go-Jek is introducing a slightly higher tariff of Rp 15k to take passengers anywhere in the capital. Courier and delivery services remain Rp 10k. No end date has been announced for this promo.
Meanwhile, GrabBike is keeping its Rp 5k promo, while also introducing a charity code by which riders can donate Rp 500 of their fare to Gerakan Perubahan Pemuda Indonesia (Movement to Change Indonesian Youth) in honor of the country’s 70th anniversary.
Obviously both companies are spending a fortune on these promos, but it’s also a game of chicken – if one drops their promo before the other, the discounted ojek drivers will dominate. For now, the customers are the winners.
We do feel somewhat sorry for the old-school ojeks, who have no way of competing against Go-Jek or GrabBike on price point. No wonder they’re so pissed at the new upstarts. But even the most stubborn ojek may soon be forced to join one of the big two if they want to keep making a living.
