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                 Uber Brings Motorbike Taxi Service to Jakarta

   by Associated Press

   Ride-hailing service Uber on Wednesday launched a motorbike taxi
   service in Jakarta, where Southeast Asian rivals Go-Jek and Grab are
   already battling for dominance.

   Jakarta is one of the world's most congested cities, and the practice
   of ordering motorbike taxis via a smartphone app has exploded in
   popularity in the past 18 months as a way to beat snarled traffic.

   Uber said that its "UberMotor'' service would provide cheap, reliable
   transportation for hundreds of thousands of people.

   The company used 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, an Indonesian startup, and Grab, which operates in several
   Southeast Asian countries, claim to be the biggest provider of
   motorbike taxi rides in Indonesia.

   The popularity of motorbikes and regular taxis ordered from smartphones
   has provoked a backlash in the taxi industry. Thousands of taxi drivers
   caused traffic chaos in Jakarta last month in a violent protest against
   what they believe is unfair competition. Drivers say the app companies,
   which are using funding from venture capitalists to offer heavily
   discounted fares, have severely reduced their income.

   The app companies say the transport industry should adapt to new
   technology.

   The Indonesian government is drawing up new regulations to govern
   transport apps but has so far resisted calls to ban Uber and similar
   services.

   Officials estimate Jakarta's traffic jams cause economic losses of
   about $3 billion a year.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/uber-brings-motorbike-taxi-service-ja
   karta/3285092.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/uber-brings-motorbike-taxi-service-jakarta/3285092.html