Indonesia’s two-wheel war: GrabBike vs Go-Jek (INFOGRAPHIC)

The streets of Jakarta are buzzing with speculation over who will win the local market for motorcycle services – just like the buzz of the motorbikes themselves. In the past few weeks, local media has paid close attention to the increasingly heated competition between homegrown startup Go-Jek and GrabBike. The latter is the motorcycle arm of Malaysia-based GrabTaxi, one of the best-funded tech startups in Southeast Asia. Go-Jek was the first mover in Jakarta, but GrabBike came along last month and replicated the model after the market was nicely primed. As a result, a bona fide David vs Goliath showdown is taking place in the capital.

It’s a close two-wheel battle. But what’s really interesting about the rivalry is that there doesn’t seem to be an easy, sure-fire way to predict the winner. While GrabBike is an alternative to Go-Jek, both firms have strengths and weaknesses that complement one another. To top it off, both of the founders were part of the same graduating class at Harvard Business School.

Transportation in Indonesia is not only a serious pain point that needs to be solved, but it’s also one of the biggest opportunities in the region. Local taxi company Blue Bird has long been known as the dominant player in Jakarta’s innercity transport space. It recently raised US$200 million in an IPO on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. However, with the world’s harshest traffic conditions, the majority of Jakarta’s population actually turns to motorbikes to get around. The stakes are high, and the firms have their work cut out for them. Here’s a visual representation of how the two startups are squaring off.

See: GrabBike recorded 8k rides in a week after launching in Indonesia. But is it enough?

Editing by Steven Millward and J.T. Quigley; infographic created by Tech in Asia’s Andre Gunawan.