A

mid growing concerns regarding security on public transportation, particularly in taxis, Southeast Asia'€™s leading taxi booking mobile application has introduced an '€œeasier, safer and faster'€ way to access taxis in Jakarta.

Mobile application GrabTaxi, which has been available in Indonesia since June and has been downloaded by thousands of local users, has introduced a new way to book a taxi. The application incorporates thousands of selected drivers from five leading taxi fleets in the country and assigns available taxis nearby to commuters using mapping and location-sharing technology. It also displays the identity of the driver and the license plate of the taxi that will pick up the passenger, including the estimated arrival time, on the app.

Talking to The Jakarta Post on Thursday, GrabTaxi CEO Anthony Tan emphasized the company'€™s zero-tolerance policy as a way to improve passengers'€™ safety.

'€œWe take a lot of preventive measures. We immediately ban drivers who break professional boundaries. The drivers are also aware that they are being tracked and that awareness is very important,'€ he said in South Jakarta.

Separately, GrabTaxi head of marketing Kiki Rizki pointed out that the company assessed the background of partner taxi drivers for three weeks before trialling them.

Tan noted the company complied with government regulations to ensure the company'€™s practices were legal.

Tan was referring to legal issues surrounding Uber, an app-based taxi company headquartered in San Francisco in the US, which operates in 53 countries.

Uber has become the subject of ongoing protests from taxi drivers, taxi companies and governments who believe it is an illegal taxicab operation that engages in unfair business practices.

The taxi safety issue in Jakarta arose after recent robberies took place in a taxi in two different locations in Jakarta. The two victims were both female.

An active female user of GrabTaxi, Lika Aprilia, said she used the app on a daily basis as she did not feel safe just hailing a taxi on the street.

'€œI work on Jl. Kebon Sirih and it is dark when I finish work. Using the app means I don'€™t have to wait on the street too long as the app tells me when the taxi will arrive,'€ she told the Post.

Another user, Devishanty, said she regularly used the app for its promotional programs. '€œIt offers a lot of discounts and promotional offers. It'€™s more practical as well,'€ she said.

Gamya taxi driver Soni Walal said he joined GrabTaxi two months ago after his friends bragged how much additional income they made after joining the system.

'€œThey can get an extra Rp 4 million [US$318] to Rp 5 million a month as the company offers incentives and other promotional programs for drivers joining GrabTaxi. Within only 15 days, I got an additional Rp 1 million. I can save a lot of money,'€ he said.

He said he could serve at least five GrabTaxi users a day.

'€œThe system is very transparent so it is beneficial for us,'€ he said.

Tan noted GrabTaxi would expand operations in the Southeast-Asian region, particularly Indonesia.

'€œWe will allocate a substantial amount of funds to expand the business in Indonesia as we want to expand to other big cities,'€ he said, adding, '€œYou can expect more launches, we are here to stay.'€