Originally established in Malaysia in 2011 as MyTeksi, Grab is a transport application in South-concentrated founded by graduates of Harvard Business School, Anthony Tan and Tan Hooi Ling, who has since has evolved into the largest ground transportation app in the area, providing car services, taxi, bicycle and delivery. To date, Grab has more than 250,000 active pilots, 13 million downloads and 1.5 million reservations in the region. We meet CEO Grab Indonesia Ridzki Kramadibrata to learn about the challenges the company faces in Indonesia.
Ridzki Kramadibrata, Grab CEO of Indonesia
Can you give us a brief history of Grab and what inspired its founders to build the business?
the idea of GrabTaxi began when co-founder Anthony Tan was a student at Harvard Business School and a classmate spread her to criticize her horrible experience with local taxis. The friend did not know if the driver was taking the right path and what would have been the right price. This jibe friend of Anthony forced to think about a solution and take it as a project at Harvard.
Grabtaxi was born in a Harvard lab, but it was neat to travel to the sun in tight taxis, educate drivers uneducated, and overcome their reluctance to adopt the technology. But the challenges are not limited to this. The drivers were reluctant to upgrade to a smartphone; they have never been exposed to the Internet or GPS. Gadgets their fear. If a team was talking to taxi drivers to understand their inhibitions and work to find a solution to their problems, another team was talking to mobile manufacturers and service providers to subsidize smartphones and the Internet for drivers.
Anthony took the challenge and the rest is history.
Grab renamed in February. Please tell us about this new image.
The new logo was designed with freedom at its core. Both lines are inspired by the roads and they represent the infinite road of possibilities. They symbolize the new Grab trip takes in parallel with its passengers, drivers, employees and society in general.
What is your reaction to the taxi driver riots of March 22?
First of all, we wish to clarify that we are not a transport operator. We work with independent transportation providers to provide services GrabTaxi, GrabCar, GrabBike and GrabExpress grateful to all our customers.
That day, the safety of all drivers, passengers and the public is of paramount importance to us.
We are a legal entity in Indonesia, we are registered as a taxpayer, and we respect and are committed to complying with all laws in force and local regulations. We are proactively communicating with the Government and the industry stakeholders to ensure efficient and safe transport for Indonesians.
The carpool industry is still in its infancy and will continue to work with the government and all stakeholders in the industry to expand the regulatory framework. We believe it is our common goal to make the Indonesian public transportation more efficient, and to enable all Indonesians to travel safely. We believe that the Department of Transport operational guidelines take into account the interests of drivers and passengers in Indonesia, and we will fully support them.
After the violent riots, you announced that formed GrabCar Indonesia car rental Cooperative (IRPP), recognized by the government to operate legally in Indonesia. What are you doing to comply with government requirements set?
Currently, Grab assists and ensure that our cooperation partner will be able to fulfill all requirements directed by the government.
We regret that, for the meantime, we will recruit new partners driver with our cooperation partners, which we had believed a significant contribution to the country's economic growth. We will focus on finishing the permitting process required for our cooperation partner, so that we can continue to give positive contribution to our partners driver, passengers and the general public.
We are delighted that our partner already has the license for rental transportation services and has received recognition from the government to be aligned with the regulations.
What do you think is the solution for official taxis and transport application to coincide harmoniously in Jakarta?
The carpool industry is still in its infancy and will continue to work with the government and all stakeholders in the industry to expand the regulatory framework.
With millions of people commuting from the suburbs of the city, the number of vehicles in the streets and the number of commuters using public transport are some of the main challenges we face especially in large cities.
Each stakeholder needs to work together to support the development of the public transportation network of the city and to ensure that all public transport are well integrated.
mobile transportation applications such as grab can play an important role in meeting these challenges, such as increasing alternative transportation options and reduce the amount of private vehicles on the street. Take the application and all its services can also be a last mile connectivity option for commuters who take transit. After all, Grab is the simple idea of taking advantage of technology to help people.
Do Grab Cars provide accident insurance for passengers?
Yes, the driver and passenger are covered by the company's insurance policy. The accident insurance policy Grab provides coverage for accidental death, dismemberment and injury in case of accidents for drivers and passengers.
According to a report of road safety in 2015 by the World Health Organization (WHO), road accidents kill about 316,000 people each year in Southeast Asia. The region, comprising 8 percent of the world population, disproportionately accounts for a quarter of the global . of deaths from road traffic.
To help reduce the number of traffic accidents in Southeast Asia, Grab has also made important safety initiatives in Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The Philippines and Indonesia, we operate during defensive riding for GrabBike, and it will soon be deployed in Thailand. In Singapore, Grab worked with the traffic police of Singapore to promote awareness of safety, with plans to improve the safety education for drivers.
How your pilot partners make sure you are safe drivers?
All our pilots are 100 percent licensed, have insurance and must undergo a rigorous selection process, including a safety driving test. We continuously improve our system of training and code of conduct for all drivers and cyclists to quality service and they must maintain a star above the minimum set by Grab.
Grab is always innovating to passenger safety, with the first characteristics in the industry as passengers being able to share the license plate number and a tracking link with family and friends allowing their families to follow their journey online and in real time. We also take customer feedback seriously -. We will investigate and do not hesitate to deregister drivers if they go against our code of conduct
?What distinguishes you from your competitors, and Uber GoJek
We are the only company with a diversified portfolio - the GrabTaxi services, and GrabCar GrabBike are all available Indonesia. GrabTaxi and GrabBike are both popular services in Indonesia, which serve different needs and customer segments. We also launched GrabExpress, service messaging application for deliveries door to door safe and convenient in November.
The industry knows that we set high standards of safety and fair practices work commuters. For example, 100 percent of GrabBike riders have a valid license. They are screened and go through background checks, and are also provided with training such as certification and the assurance of the safety division.
Can you tell us about your achievements in other countries of South East Asia?
In Vietnam, GrabCar now working legally under an exclusive pilot partnership with the Vietnamese government. Under the terms of the partnership, the GrabCar service will run with the formal approval of the Government in five provinces and cities of Vietnam specified as a pilot program.
The Philippines became the first GrabCar ride sharing application to be legalized when GrabTaxi GrabCar and became the first automotive applications to be registered under the new regulations Transport Network Company. In Phuket, the Governor has formally approved the launch of GrabCar. In Singapore, we were among the first to receive the certificate of registration of third Taxi Booking Apps.
In Indonesia, GrabBike and GrabCar operate under duly authorized entities, obtained by government approval.
How will you improve the quality of life of your drivers?
According GrabTaxi Driver social impact study of more than 600 drivers across the region last year, the income of drivers and their quality of life has increased since using Grab. The average income of taxi drivers has increased by 30-300 percent. Eight of the ten GrabTaxi pilots stated that the use of GrabTaxi application has increased the number of bookings they receive. Seven of the ten GrabTaxi pilot reported that the use of GrabTaxi application gives them the pride and dignity of their profession. Six of the ten GrabTaxi pilot reported that the use of GrabTaxi app improves their job security. And eight out of ten women in the countries of Southeast Asia to find developing to take a taxi safer now that there GrabTaxi.
What are your expansion plans in Indonesia?
We have a presence in Bandung, Surabaya and Padang for the taxi service, and Bali for GrabCar, private chauffeured car up for rent. The expansion is a defined strategy, but make sure we can meet the growing demand for safe transportation needs and strengthen our presence in the quality of service before moving on to other cities.
Indonesia is indeed our biggest market and the fastest growing and continues to be tremendous growth opportunity because of the population size and the small user base currently using applications came round. We will continue with our hyperlocal strategy and deploy services that meet the needs and demands of the community.
Thank you, Ridzki. To contact, please contact: press@grab.com