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ublicly listed transportation company Weha Transportasi Indonesia, part of the country’s largest tour and travel firm Panorama Group, has finally tapped into the e-commerce business this year in an effort to survive amid growing competition from app-based transportation companies.

One of the programs initiated by the company this year is to provide an online ticket service for customers, offered through its e-commerce platform, aimed at simplifying the process of purchasing tickets for all modes of transportation operated by the firm. The company currently operates chartered buses, taxis, rental cars and inter-city shuttle busses.

“This way, tickets for the inter-city shuttle busses, operated under the brand DayTrans, can also be purchased through a mobile application,” Weha president director Angreta Chandra told journalists

The firm also worked in cooperation with other e-commerce companies as well, including Elevenia and Tiket.com, to increase its ticket sales this year.

The company plans to optimize its rental car and taxi operations by cooperating with app-based transportation companies such as Uber, Go-Car and GrabCar to boost revenue.

Last year, the decline faced by the company was in part due to the economic slowdown, the emergence of app-based transportation.

“The transportation industry has begun to feel the presence of online transportation services, such as Uber and Go-Jek,” Angreta said.

Weha’ revenue dropped by 37.5 percent to Rp 165 billion (US$12.4 million) in 2015, from Rp 240 billion in revenue the previous year. As a result, Weha suffered Rp 39 billion in net losses last year, a far cry from the Rp 3.5 billion in net profits the firm recorded in 2014.

All of its business lines suffered huge setback last year, especially the bus and taxi division, as stated during a presentation at the firm’s public expose in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The bus division generated revenue of about Rp 69 billion last year, from Rp 107 billion in 2014. Total sales arising from the firm’s taxi division last year stood at Rp 34 billion, a declined from Rp 69 billion the previous year.

This year, Weha boasted a slight revenue increase to Rp 170 billion ($12.8 million), but the company is yet to see any significant sign of economic recovery so far.

“In relation to economic growth, there hasn’t been any significant increase in the country’s economic growth this year. We see no increase in the number of activities conducted by the industrial and banking sectors,” Angreta said.

Indonesia’s economy is expected to grow 5.3 percent this year, from a six-year low of 4.79 percent last year. However growth sat at 4.92 percent for first quarter this year, weaker than widely expected.

The company has set aside capital expenditure of Rp 19 billion this year for the rejuvenation of its bus charter and intercity shuttle bus divisions, financial director Edgar Surjadi said. There are around 20 busses and cars to be rejuvenated.

Weha currently operates 310 busses, 500 taxis, 126 rental cars and 62 intercity shuttle busses spread throughout major cities such as Jakarta, Bandung in West Java, Semarang and Yogyakarta in Central Java, and also in Bali. (vny)