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Jakarta, Jubi – Grab announced that it has expanded its services to Jayapura city. These transport booking service providers are the first to set foot in the land of Papua.
From its press release Grab claims it has a similar technology company that has been operating from Aceh to Papua. The type of service that will be available in Jayapura later is GrabCar.
Jayapura became the 75th city in Indonesia tracked by Grab. It also makes it the most wide-ranging ride-hailing operator in the archipelago.
“With a wide range of services across seven countries and over 60 million downloads, we are ready to become a transportation option for both locals and travelers from Southeast Asia,” said Mediko Azwar, Marketing Director of Grab Indonesia.
The news of the Singapore-based company is almost simultaneously with news of the rival Gojek. It is also Gojek who wants to expand to four countries in Southeast Asia.
Despite not mentioning which countries will be visited, CEO Gojek Nadiem Makarim indicates the country they will ‘invade’ next has a large population and relatively untouched non-cash payment system.
Reasons for choosing Jayapura
As a city in Papua, Jayapura has never previously seen a ride-hailing company. Its location away from the business center in Java is likely to be the cause.
But now the city of Jayapura is the most eastern city of Indonesia with the highest economic growth rate compared to other cities or districts in Papua.
Marine tourism and trade became the main driver of the economy’s pulse there. To that end, Grab intends to bridge the transportation needs in Jayapura.
Mediko said GrabCar has been available in Jayapura since 22 September recently. While this is only GrabCar which present there.(CNN Indonesia/Zely Ariane)
