If you’ve lived on the island for long enough and call yourself a resident, chances are that by now you must have encountered the questions revolving around public transportation from the visitors especially the first timers. Well, the question is totally valid as the public transportation options here are limited and indeed somewhat challenging in a way.

To travel around, visitors on the island are automatically put into a situation where they should either rent and ride a scooter, rent a car (and most probably a hire a driver too) or take a cab to go places. You might have heard about Bali’s Trans Sarbagita buses, but those buses only have very limited routes and quite limited number of buses too. Taking the Trans Sarbagita is really only a good option when your destination is located not that far from the bus stops (which is very rarely the case), as otherwise you will spend a lot of money for your cab rides from and to the bus stop.

And for the purpose of not sounding too optimistic, we are not going to elaborate on the noble choice of walking or riding a bicycle, simply because both of those options only apply to certain distances only.

All the above options come with each of their own pros, cons and consequences. Getting a scooter rental is an option that won’t burn a hole in your pocket, that’s true. Renting a scooter per 24 hours ranges between IDR 50.000 – IDR 60.000,- these days, which is a pretty good money value. You’d still have to gas up your scooter, but those things don’t really require that much gas anyway. An average full tank for a scooter will cost you around IDR. 25.000,- and that is enough for quite a long drive for one scooter which can carry two adults.

However, there are things that should be highly considered before you go ahead and rent your scooter; things that have to do with you being a responsible human being. For example, do you actually know how to ride a scooter or are you just being optimistic that it would be as easy as riding a bicycle? Do you own an international drivers license or are you again just being very confident that you won’t need one? Are you sure you can cope with the hectic traffic and tiny roads here in the south? Those are all real issues, and need real consideration.

Second option, the cabs… While this may sound like a classic option where you can’t really go wrong, this is for sure not the cheapest option. Cab rides are pretty pricy compared to the money value for most other expenses.  It just doesn’t quite add up nicely if your cab fare per day is about as much as you pay for your hotel room share for a day.

Plus the traffic around the tourism areas doesn’t make it go any faster, or cheaper for that matter. Besides, long drives, like going out of the southern part of the island into the less visited exotic places are simply not subject to cab rides. It will be way too expensive, which is how the car rental and driver hire services come into the picture.

While this is a great option when you go on a day tour around the island, renting a car and a driver does seem a little much and redundant if your plan is just to let’s say go for a half hour distance to spend hours at one spot instead of driving around with a full day itinerary. But we can’t emphasize enough on how this is really the best and most reliable option when you do have a full day or half day tour planned out.

However, recently there has been a significant change in the scene of Bali’s public transportation.  Something pretty significant that it deserves a mention when someone asks, “what’s new in Bali?”.  Most of you who happen to live here must have been at least familiarized with the green corporate color and logo of Go-Jek, as the drivers are seen on their scooters on every busy road wearing the black and green Go-Jek jackets along with the green helmets.

Go-Jek is an online social enterprise that partners with a group of experienced and trustworthy ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers to deliver a one-stop-shop convenience service for Indonesians. The service includes Transport, Instant Courier, GO-FOOD and Shopping.

Go-Jek started off in Jakarta back in 2011 using as a call-center based transportation service. It was in the very beginning of 2015 that they launched their online application on Apple Store and Google Play Store, which made a significant turn in the success of this sociopreneurship.  We’d call it a sociopreneurship for sure, as this company has proven its success to be enjoyed by so many more parties other than merely the company itself.

Go-Jek aims to change the image of an ojek driver, which has a direct effect on the image of the convenience of riding with them. Go-Jek has been proven to empower and educate their drivers with trainings revolving around the application knowledge, which in some cases involves the basic education of the basic use of smartphones too. They put serious emphasize on the significance of all drivers’ professionalism in all ways in order to provide the best service possible.

Soon after having launched the app, Go-Jek expanded from Jakarta to other big cities in Indonesia, especially those areas where life is fast-phased and traffic has become part of the daily struggle to be taken into account, which includes Denpasar and Badung area of Bali.

Over the past couple months Go-Jek has become more and more popular in the operating area of South Bali. Either it is for the transport or simply for the GO-FOOD delivery service, most people, especially the mobile busy working types, do have the Go-Jek app on their phone. Go-Jek has become a reliable, affordable and easily accessible option for pretty much anyone who has a smartphone.

Go-Jek has in fact played a noticeable role in making an actual impact in the social economy scene of thousands of households of those who are employed by the company, while also providing an low-budget and practical option for all the Go-Jek customers (or Go-Jekers, as they often refer to the customers) spread in the cities covered in their service area.  

Go-Jek has very fair rates, and they seem to have many promotions from time to time. And those promotions are as crazy as providing a flat rate of Rp.10.000,- for all services with the maximum distance of 25 kilometers, which is a very long way!

So far, Go-Jek in Bali has shown to be fast and responsive. The driver normally gives another confirmation call on top of having confirmed to the order through the application. They are mostly punctual, friendly and overall professional.

Now, given the above description about Go-Jek, this transportation service could definitely be one of the safe and reliable options while on holiday in Bali. It is perfect for your trips within the south part of the island; a perfect substitute for cabs when you can’t afford being stuck in traffic, when you want to spare yourself some of your daily ‘pocket money’, or simply when you are travelling alone anyway! And not t o mention, Go-Jek is also the perfect choice for those who have the tendency to ‘force’ themselves into becoming their own professional ojek driver while not really meeting the requirements! Let’s just stay safe, shall we?

The Go-Jek application is in English and it is user friendly. Payments can be made in cash, so you don’t need to worry about recharging your credit and all that. All you have to do is simply download the app, and voila; an ojek for every need, right in your hands!

http://www.go-jek.com/