Conventional Taxi Income Eroded by Online Transportation

The emergence of online-based transportation services, both two-wheeled and four-wheeled vehicles, has eroded the income of conventional taxis. PT Blue Bird Tbk's revenue in 2016 decreased by 12.36 percent to Rp 4.8 trillion from the previous year. Similarly, PT Express Transindo Utama Tbk's revenue until September 2016 also fell by 28.95 percent to Rp 512.6 billion from the same period the previous year.

This revenue decline also impacted the profits of conventional taxis. The profit of the issuer with the trading code BIRD, throughout 2016, fell sharply by 38.43 percent to Rp 507.3 billion. In fact, the taxi company with the stock exchange trading code TAXI recorded a loss of Rp 81 billion until September 2016, compared to a profit of Rp 11.4 billion in the same period the previous year.

The arrival of online motorcycle taxis and taxis such as Go-Jek, Grab, and Uber has severely impacted the financial performance of Blue Bird and Express taxis. Lower costs, time savings, and reasonably good service have led a segment of the population to choose app-based transportation services. To avoid losing market share, conventional taxis have been forced to collaborate with online transportation services.