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Grab hits the road with GrabFood food delivery service
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A Jakarta resident uses his smartphone to access a ride-hailing application. The app has angered traditional ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers, whose livelihoods are threatened by the tough competition. (JP/Jerry Adiguna)
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alaysian smartphone-based ride-hailing firm, Grab, will enter lucrative food delivery market starting Monday, following in the footstep of local competitor Go-Jek with its Go-Food service.
According to an announcement made on its website, the beta version of the service will only be available in the areas of Senayan, Semanggi, Sudirman and Kuningan central business districts for now. It also limits operating hours to between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
For the service, GrabFood will charge Rp 20,000 (US$1.50) per delivery. However, during the beta trial period, users can pay only Rp10,000 for each delivery by using a special promotional code. There is also no minimum order requirement. Payment must be made in cash for now, but in the future, a cashless payment option will reportedly be added.
For the time being, Grab claims it has partnered with several restaurants, including those serving Turkish, Mediterranean, Asian and Indonesia cuisines, such as Bottega, PEPeNERO, Cut the Crab and Turkuaz.
Grab said the new service was designed to allow Jakartans to sample the many different cuisines available in the capital without the hassle of facing the traffic gridlock or making reservations.
Grab said that any complaints regarding the delivery could be made via its hotline service (021) 80648777.
Go-Gek launched its Go-Food service in early 2015 in addition to its courier and ojek (motorcycle taxi) services.
Grab has been reportedly looking to zoom ahead of the competition on the streets of Indonesia with a 50 percent market share in the motorcycle taxi segment by the end of the year, through expansion into other cities outside Greater Jakarta.
The GrabBike ojek app service is likely to expand into at least five cities by the end of 2016. Grab, which has recently rebranded itself from its former name GrabTaxi, is currently still assessing which cities are suitable for the introduction of the GrabBike service.
Currently, the GrabBike service is only available in the Greater Jakarta area, while its other services including GrabCar and GrabTaxi are available in other cities. GrabCar is available in Denpasar and Jakarta, while GrabTaxi is available in Surabaya, Jakarta, Padang and Bandung. (dmr)
