Uber starts motorbike taxi service in Indonesian capital

Taxis are lined up during a protest against competition from ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Grab at the main business district in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, March 22, 2016. AP

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Ride-hailing app Uber has launched a motorbike taxi service in the Indonesian capital where Southeast Asian rivals Go-Jek and Grab are already battling for dominance.

Jakarta is one of the world’s most congested cities and motorbike taxis ordered from a smartphone app have exploded in popularity in the past 18 months as a way to beat the traffic.

Uber said Wednesday that its “UberMotor” service would provide cheap and reliable transportation for potentially hundreds of thousands of people.

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The company used a local social media and YouTube star Arief Muhammad to launch its service, saying he was the first person in Jakarta to use an Uber motorcycle taxi.

Both Go-Jek and Grab both claim to be the biggest provider of motorbike taxi rides in Indonesia.

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