Striving to be an all-round everyday super app, Grab has expanded its wings by introducing GrabBajay in Jakarta. With several subsidiaries throughout Southeast Asia, this is not the first time the company has worked together with another form of local transportation.

In 2018, Grab Cambodia launched Grab Tuk Tuk (three-wheeled motorized rickshaw) and Grab Remorque (motorcycle-pulled trailer), in an effort to cater to customers who prefer these more traditional forms of transportation.

Similarly, Grab Thailand also introduced Grab Rod Daeng (modified pick-up trucks) in 2018 and the electric Grab Tuk Tuk earlier this year.

After its official launch on May 23 in Jakarta, GrabBajay started operating in five locations, namely around Jakarta Kota Station, ITC Mangga Dua, the Mangga Besar area, Sawah Besar and Pasar Baru — all in Central and West Jakarta — with a total of 60 drivers.

However, a week after the Idul Fitri holiday, finding an available GrabBajay driver has proven difficult. With the limited number of vehicles and high demand from Grab users, finding an idle conventional bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) is still much easier.

Khoirun, a 33-year-old GrabBajay driver, told The Jakarta Post that the majority of his fellow drivers had not yet returned from celebrating the Idul Fitri holiday in their hometowns. He also added that GrabBajay drivers did not work full-time for Grab, which allowed them to still accept regular passengers.

Consequently, the supply of GrabBajay drivers fails to meet the demand for app-based bajaj in the capital.

Grab Indonesia public affairs head Tri Sukma Anreianno said the company was still monitoring user demand for this new mode of app-based transportation.

“The demand for this service [GrabBajay] significantly increased during the Idul Fitri holiday,” he told the Post.

Noticing this rising trend, he expressed hope the Singapore-based technology company could bring more bajaj drivers into its fold to support tourism in Jakarta as the city celebrates its 492nd anniversary.

A number of Jakartans have shown their enthusiasm for Grab’s new feature.

Dachirun, a 46-year-old GrabBajay driver, told the Post that most of his Grab passengers had ordered a GrabBajay out of sheer curiosity.

As a result of this enthusiasm, GrabBajay drivers have been able to earn some additional income.

Despite not receiving bonuses like other Grab-based transportation drivers and having to transport passengers for much less than their usual fares, both Khoirun and Dachirun said they could still earn up to Rp 50,000 (US$3.5) in additional income a day by picking up five to seven more passengers.

Anreianno expressed hope that by developing and further expanding its GrabBajay service, it could provide multiple benefits for Jakartans, as the company covered insurance for both passengers and drivers and offered lower fares than regular bajaj.

Running on environmental-friendly compressed natural gas (CNG), GrabBajay is more environmentally friendly than regular fossil-fuel-powered bajaj.

“As bajaj are an icon of the capital, we hope that GrabBajay can be of benefit to Jakartans and tourists alike,” he said.

The writer is an intern

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