Tasa Nugraza Barley

Yuliana, a Limo Bike driver. (Photo: Tasa Nugraza Barley, JG)

Ojeks for the Executive Set

As someone who has always been a big fan of the erratic motorcycle taxis known as ojek , I was surprised to learn from a friend that a fancier version has been plying the streets of Jakarta since August 2008.

Going by the name Limo Bike, this fleet of 30 Piaggio Fly 125cc scooters purports to offer “limousine-style comfort.”

I frequently took ojek during my college days, and felt embarrassed, and somewhat offended, to have been kept in the dark about this luxury ojek.

For much of my adult life, I have relied on ojek to get me swiftly through traffic jams, saving me both time and money. So I decided to get a better idea of what the Limo Bike is all about and go for a ride.

I was told that the Limo Bike chauffeurs wait to be summoned for jaunts at a location near an apartment complex in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

After circling the complex in my car for several minutes, I had failed to spot a Limo Bike, and was ready to give up.

But then I saw a brilliant flash of yellow. Painted in gleaming yellow and blue, the Limo Bike stood in stark contrast to the grimy-looking ojek I am accustomed to riding, and both the driver and the passenger were wearing jackets and helmets in traffic-stopping yellow.

As I didn’t want to miss my chance, I followed them in my car, hoping to eventually take the passenger’s place.

Luckily for me, the passenger’s destination wasn’t far away. I yelled out my car window, just as the Limo Bike chauffeur was preparing to head back into the traffic: “Can you take me?”

To my surprise, the driver politely declined. “You have to call this number,” he said, pointing at the phone number on his bike.

“So you can’t take me?” I asked him one more time, just to make sure that I wasn’t hearing things. You see, I had read on the company’s official Web site that in addition to being ordered by phone, Limo Bike taxis can be hailed on the street.

I decided to contact the Limo Bike call center. A female operator answered my call and took down my details, consisting of my name, cellphone number, current location and destination.

I told her I wanted to make a round trip between Semanggi and Kuningan. “Please wait for 15 minutes,” she said.

Limo Bike operates in Jakarta’s business triangle — comprising the Sudirman, Gatot Subroto and Kuningan areas — from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday to Saturday.

I waited for more than 20 minutes before my cellphone rang. It was the operator, asking whether the Limo Bike had arrived — which it certainly had not.

“I thought you said 15 minutes?” I said, a note of irritation slipping into my voice.

She apologized for the inconvenience and assured me that a bike was on its way.

I counted the time, and the yellow vehicle turned up 34 minutes after my call. The driver turned off the engine and dismounted.

For the first time in my life, I saw before me a female ojek driver.

Her name was Yuliana, and she too made an apology. “It wasn’t easy to find your location,” she told me.

She stepped down from her motorcycle and handed me a big yellow helmet. Unlike the strapless crash helmets usually provided by ojek drivers, the Limo Bike’s looked like it might actually protect your head.

Yuliana then offered me a disposable hair cap to slip on under the helmet for hygiene purposes and a yellow windbreaker. I grabbed the jacket, but decided not to use it. “I’m definitely not wearing that,” I said to myself.

I also read on the Web site that skirt-wearing female passengers can request blankets from the driver with which to cover up their legs. And there are storage spaces at the back of the vehicle and beneath the seat for bags and briefcases.

My first impression? The Piaggio Fly 125cc is certainly qualified to be a Limo Bike, and its engine seemed to purr softly as it moved through the traffic.

Raising my voice to be heard over the traffic, I managed to have a pleasant conversation with Yuliana.

“Its our policy to step down from our bikes and introduce ourselves to customers,” she said.

Yuliana has only been working for Limo Bike for five months. There were several other female riders when she first joined the team, but she’s the only one left.

Yuliana said her customers ranged from students to businesspeople to housewives.

“Some people with money don’t like to take the usual ojek,” she said.

“We’re different. Yes, we are pricey, but our customers get more,” Yuliana added. “Every customer is protected by insurance, so they don’t need to be afraid of something bad happening.”

The insurance is definitely just a precautionary measure. Yuliana drove carefully and safely. None of those life-endangering zig-zag maneuvers, which, admittedly, I often encourage my ojek driver to make.

I asked Yuliana about the company’s policy on the Web site stating that each driver must adhere to a speed limit, which is 60 kilometer per hour.

“Yes, it’s true,” she said. “But sometimes we get customers who want us to drive faster because they are running late for something. In that case, I can’t say no to them.”

As we were turning onto Jalan Gatot Subroto, I saw a child wearing a white-and-red elementary school uniform sitting on the backseat of a motorcycle. His face lit up when he saw Yuliana’s yellow bike.

Throughout the trip, I saw other people looking at us with puzzled expressions. So, I am not the only one who doesn’t know about the Limo Bike, I thought.

I asked Yuliana about the market response so far. She said: “Our loyal customers like to use our service because what we offer is so much better.

“The motorcycle, for example, it’s equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) so that our main office can always locate the position of each motorcycle,” she said.

Later on, she admitted that the GPS on her motorcycle was out of order.

“Our customers always appreciate that we give good service. They like they way each driver dresses, for example. We always wear jacket, jeans and shoes,” Yuliana said.

Asked if regular ojek drivers had caused her any trouble, she admitted that she and some of the other drivers had encountered some problems.

“[But] we gently explain to them that we provide a different kind of service. We tell them that we are a phone call-based ojek. We only pick up customers after they call.”

I arrived safely at my original spot. A round-trip between Semanggi and Kuningan cost me Rp 70,000. The fare per trip for a maximum of 10 kilometers is Rp 35,000, 20 kilometers is Rp 45,000 and 40 kilometers is Rp 55,000 — quite expensive compared to regular ojek.

To call the Limo Bike the new and improved ojek is an oversimplification. Yes, the company boasts better motorcycles and more regulated service, but, to my mind, nothing beats the sensation of the wind whipping through your hair on the back of an old-fashioned, daredevil ojek.

Additional reporting by Armando Siahaan.

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