When I first returned to Indonesia in 2009, I marvelled at the number of modes of transport I used within 24 hours of landing in Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Jakarta. Taxi, motorbike, speedboat, kopaja bus, bajaj, angkot, and others I have since forgotten were on the list.
Arriving in Bali in 2015, I took the usual over-priced airport taxi to my accommodation upon landing late at night. Schoolboy error. Amateur mistake.
When I met up with friends from KL 2 days later, they told me they had Uber-ed to their hotel in Nusa Dua for a quarter of the price I had paid to get to Kerobokan! That spurred me into action, reminding me of the range of apps now within reach of anyone in Bali with a smartphone and a data plan (paket data). The big boys shaking up transport in other parts of the region had reached Bali.
Uber
Yes, the ubiquitous Uber is now available in Bali. Coverage seemed patchy, however, and our one and only available driver cancelled on us after we had waited for around 10 minutes for him to arrive. I was also charged for this, although upon explaining the situation to Uber, the charge was reversed.
Grab Car
Hot on the heels of Uber, as anywhere in Southeast Asia, is Malaysia's start-up darling, Grab Taxi. Operating in Bali only as Grab Car (for now), they had a promotion on for the Kuningan festival, and we were able to get to Nusa Dua (or anywhere else in South Bali) for a bargain price of only Rp15.000 (just over USD 1)! They also seemed to have good coverage, with several cars in the vicinity. My friends confirmed that their driver was polite and obliging.
I then used Grab Car to help me move from Kerobokan to Ubud, and had a chat with the driver, Ketut. He said that Grab had only been in Bali for around a month and it looks like they are working with local transport consortiums to increase the fleet quickly. Ketut had had good business coming from the Grab app, averaging 10 customers per day, mostly people from Jakarta, who had already downloaded and used the app. Well played, Grab!
Go-Jek
An ojek is a motorcycle taxi. Go-Jek offers delivery or transport services from a motorcycle (which is handy in Indonesian traffic!)
Another newcomer to Bali, having established a presence in Jakarta, Go-Jek has been on the island for around 2 months. It is the newest addition to my own personal app library, as it does not currently offer services in KL! It may have been the novelty factor, but it was hard to dislike anything about the Go-Jek app or service, from the cute icons and user-friendliness of the dashboard, to its relatively large range of services (courier services, food delivery, shopping/errand runs, or transporting YOU!), to the efficiency, politeness, and general air of professionalism of the driver.
(The Rp10.000 to anywhere promotion running until 27 July 2015 didn't hurt either!)
*************
Going forward I'll be sure to use my phone more to help me get around Bali, rather than leaving it to chance. The traditional operators will certainly be facing a challenge, and it will be interesting to see how this will play out here.
Arriving in Bali in 2015, I took the usual over-priced airport taxi to my accommodation upon landing late at night. Schoolboy error. Amateur mistake.
When I met up with friends from KL 2 days later, they told me they had Uber-ed to their hotel in Nusa Dua for a quarter of the price I had paid to get to Kerobokan! That spurred me into action, reminding me of the range of apps now within reach of anyone in Bali with a smartphone and a data plan (paket data). The big boys shaking up transport in other parts of the region had reached Bali.
Uber
Yes, the ubiquitous Uber is now available in Bali. Coverage seemed patchy, however, and our one and only available driver cancelled on us after we had waited for around 10 minutes for him to arrive. I was also charged for this, although upon explaining the situation to Uber, the charge was reversed.
Grab Car
Hot on the heels of Uber, as anywhere in Southeast Asia, is Malaysia's start-up darling, Grab Taxi. Operating in Bali only as Grab Car (for now), they had a promotion on for the Kuningan festival, and we were able to get to Nusa Dua (or anywhere else in South Bali) for a bargain price of only Rp15.000 (just over USD 1)! They also seemed to have good coverage, with several cars in the vicinity. My friends confirmed that their driver was polite and obliging.
I then used Grab Car to help me move from Kerobokan to Ubud, and had a chat with the driver, Ketut. He said that Grab had only been in Bali for around a month and it looks like they are working with local transport consortiums to increase the fleet quickly. Ketut had had good business coming from the Grab app, averaging 10 customers per day, mostly people from Jakarta, who had already downloaded and used the app. Well played, Grab!
Go-Jek
An ojek is a motorcycle taxi. Go-Jek offers delivery or transport services from a motorcycle (which is handy in Indonesian traffic!)
Another newcomer to Bali, having established a presence in Jakarta, Go-Jek has been on the island for around 2 months. It is the newest addition to my own personal app library, as it does not currently offer services in KL! It may have been the novelty factor, but it was hard to dislike anything about the Go-Jek app or service, from the cute icons and user-friendliness of the dashboard, to its relatively large range of services (courier services, food delivery, shopping/errand runs, or transporting YOU!), to the efficiency, politeness, and general air of professionalism of the driver.
(The Rp10.000 to anywhere promotion running until 27 July 2015 didn't hurt either!)
*************
Going forward I'll be sure to use my phone more to help me get around Bali, rather than leaving it to chance. The traditional operators will certainly be facing a challenge, and it will be interesting to see how this will play out here.
Haha. I thought you'd have graduated to your own Harley by now! ;p
ReplyDeleteSoon, soon! When Tesla teams up with Harley, that is....
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