The one thing that becomes a thousand times easier than it was before the era of internet is, of course, how we transport from one place to another.
If previously we didn’t have a choice, it’s not the matter anymore. Even when we’re on a vacation at a foreign country, internet has made it so easy for us to choose between available transportation modes in such a secure way.
Pioneered by Amsterdam-based transport hero Uber Corp, similar phone apps have now budding everywhere in the world.
Asia’s leading app Grab has been trying to expand their business throughout the South East Asia, covering Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and few countries more; all the while, Indonesia’s first decacorn corporation Gojek, has been expanding themselves within their internal app first before spreading its wings to soar into foreign skies.
For a long, long time, Bali was known for overpriced transports and notorious drivers. There have been plenty of stories about foreigners having to pay crazy price for such a short distance-all of these happened because there was no competition for local taxis, giving them the power to do as they want because they know they are much needed.
Well, not anymore…
Even with a big resistance from local taxi drivers, Grab and Gojek puts on a brave face and stubbornly try to stay where they are. The fact is, no one has any problem with their expansion other than local taxi drivers.
On the contrary, tourists, both locals and international ones, have been rejoicing the fact that they now can get an affordable ride with a much more reliable driver that will never take them all around town before getting to your destination in attempt to get much more money from your wallet. What a good news, isn’t it?
If you have been staying in Bali for some time, chances are, you already have both apps on your phone. However, if you don’t, then this might be a perfect article for you. While we’re talking about Gojek and Grab here, we figure we might as well give you a thorough first-hand experiences in using the two apps so you can decide which one will suits you best.
- Pricing – There is not much difference between the two apps, usually around the mark of three to five thousand IDR, which can be easily cut further down using vouchers and promos. The prices are conducted from how many kilometers are there in the route you are taking, and differs from one service to the others. Read more about this down below.
- Electronic Money Options –With the government trying to socialize the use of electronic money furthermore, it is no wonder if these two apps are integrating them into their systems. While Grab decides to partner with OVO, which is a whole new account to make, Gojek makes it simplified with their Go-pay system, which ican be easily topped up straight from your debit or credit card. The only thing you need to do is just to connect the card(s) to your Gjek account. Don’t worry, it’s safe.
- Service Range – From queuing for movie tickets, buying your food, all the way to providing truck boxes for those in need, Gojek really offers you A LOT of services. Their sister-app Go Life will even help you find someone to blow your hair, do your nails, clean your house, give you a massage, and so much more.
Their most popular services, according to some drivers we interviewed before, turns out to be Gosend (you guessed it – they’ll send your packages for you, and Gofood (which will buy you food and deliver it to your doorstep). How convenient, eh? In the meantime, Grab seems to be focusing on just two things: rides and deliveries, both goods and food. It now depends on you which service you need the most.
- Drivers’ Quality – If you think it’s easy to become a Gojek or Grab driver, think again. Starting with a long ueue at the head office, each driver is demanded to provide a valid identity card, driver’s license, clean police records, and a deposit. They will then be interviewed and tested, and finally put into safety driving classes to provide the best riding experience for the consumers.
- User Interface – Since we’re gonna use it daily on our phone,we fell that it is necessary todiscuss whether Grab and Gojek have easy to use User Interface, especially for foreigners. With its buit in translator in the chat feature, it is so easy to communicate with a Gojek driver in Balil moreover if you’re already familiar with simple daily conversations.
Clear icons and segmented features also help making the experience of using Gojek app a simple and easy one. Grab, interestingly, has been changing their main display more and more similar to Gojek’s. Both apps are easy and uite straightforward to use, but Grab with their emergency feature wins a little bit more in term of consumer safety awareness.
There you are, some differences between Grab and Gojek. Which one will you choose? Just remember that either one is safe; but, if you want to take extra measures, capture the driver’s data and phone number, along with the order number, and send it to your friends. You know, just in case. Happy travelling!
