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.
READ: Transit systems eye Uber, Lyft for savings on the disabled
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.
READ: LTFRB mulls granting franchise to GrabBike