Indonesian taxi firm Blue Bird joins hands with ride-hailing app Go-Jek

Indonesia’s largest taxi operator Blue Bird Group said on Monday (May 9) that it plans to form a partnership with the country’s biggest online ride hailing app Go-Jek.

The collaboration is expected to cover the areas of technology, payments and promotions.

In a joint statement, the two firms said the partnership would increase the quality of their customer service and that the initiatives would focus on enhancing the transportation experience through a convenient mobile solution. The partnership would “accelerate Indonesia’s digital revolution and empower consumers”, they said.

Mr Yoga Adiwinarto, country director of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), said Blue Bird needs to have more reliable apps and will probably ask Go-Jek to develop them.

He added: “Go-Jek will probably handle the Blue Bird apps, perhaps even put Blue Bird on the Go-Jek platform. More reliable apps will help taxi passengers, an improvement from the poor Blue Bird apps right now.”

The two companies said they would announce further details about the collaboration soon.

Monday’s announcement came after a protest in March, where thousands of Indonesian drivers from various taxi companies took to the streets of Jakarta speak up against the ride-hailing app industry, which is often perceived as a threat to the traditional transportation industry.