O

em>Ojek (motorcycle taxi) services became the talk of the town following the breakthrough of Go-Jek, an application that modernizes the way to order an ojek service.

As a user, I’m grateful. Finally there is clear information about the ride’s fare in addition to knowing my driver’s profile. Go-Jek’s boom has attracted other similar companies to offer ojek services: Grab (initially GrabTaxi) offers GrabBike, and the newly launched UberMotor from Uber.

Competition is inevitable for this particular service. I have been spoiled with tons of promotions from these three companies starting from free rides to super-low fares for their service.

Following violent protests from regular taxi and ojek drivers, the government is now attempting to accommodate these ride-hailing applications. It’s the right time for these companies to inform customers that it’s their right to pay for the right fare.

What the promotions want to achieve, of course, is customer acquisition. In a recent promotion, Go-Jek offers 50 percent off Go-Ride with GoPay. While, surprisingly, GrabBike only charged Rp 6,000 (less than 50 US cent) per trip. Prior to that, Go-Jek’s fare was Rp 10,000 and GrabBike’s was Rp 12,000.

In a recent trip in late May, I asked the driver, how much does he earn from such a promotion? He said he got Rp 10,000, with Rp 6,000 from the passenger and Rp 4,000 in subsidies from Grab.

Their basic income has been depleting by an average Rp 25,000 to Rp 10,000 per trip but “no worries”, he said, as he aimed for a bonus if a certain minimum number of trips is achieved per day. To heat up the market, Uber is even more aggressive, offering supposedly the cheapest base fare at Rp 1,000.

To keep a company alive, customer acquisition is a crucial foundation. Has aggressive promotion contributed to customer acquisition? Yes, temporarily. However, the temporary customer acquisition also comes with side effects.

Budget conscious passengers will be loyal to the company that offers the cheapest fares. Offering the cheapest fare has educated passengers there will always be a cheap ojek service.

Such promotion has been going for a while now, and it may have erased the appropriate standard fare of ojek services. We are going back to the initial state of affairs – no appropriate standard fare.

Then must these companies continue the promotion knowing that ojek services are always in demand? Subsidizing the fare that should be borne by the passenger is costly and it won’t stop until these companies understand that these promotions are no longer effective. Drivers should not live in fear of fewer passengers because of promotion from competitors.

When the promotions stop, what can these companies do to continue acquiring customers? The answers are excellent service and educative programs. As a passenger I find that excellent service is worth the money. I find myself and other passengers staying loyal once we are satisfied with a service.

Using an ojek service from another company occurs when we have difficulties in ordering or when we encountered a bad experience.

Excellent service isn’t only providing masks and hairnets, these companies must really go the extra mile. Complying with traffic regulations should be mandatory but I believe that what can steal picky passengers’ hearts is hygiene.

These companies can promote their drivers’ care with activities like cuci helm bersama (washing helmets together) to ensure the hygiene of the helmet that is worn by many passengers daily. They can also consider ensuring the vehicles are bensin penuh (have a full tank of fuel) to ensure that passengers will not encounter unexpected stops to refuel.

And most important is to establish dedicated areas to pick up and drop off passengers at landmark destinations instead of by the roadside or near office building entrances that may risk passengers’ safety.

We have been spoiled with promotions that hurt these companies and drivers. The fare pricing is based on distance.

In reality, drivers occasionally travel farther due to unfavorable traffic conditions. The education programs can be in the form of a social campaign to foster the pride of passengers for paying the right fare.

The demand for ojek services will always be there and even increasing in cities with traffic issues. The competition with suicidal promotions from these three giants must stop and they should collaborate and educate passengers. It takes time but we can wait no longer.
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The writer is an independent holistic marketing practitioner for lifestyle businesses in Indonesia.