Tron's "Ride Sharing" Application Digitizes Angkot, Bekasi Becomes a "Pilot Project"

According to data from the Ministry of Transportation, the total trips in Jabodetabek throughout 2015 were recorded at 47,5 million trips per day. About 50 percent of them are trips from Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi to Jakarta. Meanwhile, travel within Jakarta itself is only 40 percent.

The market is currently increasingly dominated Grab and Gojek, while on the other hand official public transport players continue to lag behind because they are not friendly with technology.

This issue makes it happen "resistance" from angkot drivers who still often occur in the field. Tron (derived from the word Transport Online) realized this problem by releasing an application ride sharing specifically for public transportation which was just released in early April 2019.

"Public transportation already has an official tariff, which is definitely cheaper than bringing a private vehicle. We want to live for them because they have not been touched by digital at all, the regulations are very clear. They have official permission," explained Tron CEO David Santoso to DailySocial.

Tron is a product of PT Teknologi Olah Rancang Nusantara which is an affiliate of Digiasia Bios. David himself was previously the CFO of PayPro. For its implementation, Tron took Via, a US technology company. No Via shares were issued to the company.

David explained, With is the right partner to modify the public transportation system from a regulated system with scheduled routes to a dynamic and on-demand transportation system. Via has a special algorithm for it all. As a result, consumers can get certainty of travel time, when the driver gets to the destination, and so on.

"Globally, Tron's technology has been recognized. They already operate in more than 60 cities in 15 countries. We want to enter per city because the maps for each [route] are different so it takes time to integrate them into Tron."

Tron business model

David explained that users who want to use Tron can simply download the application, then determine the pick-up location that the transportation takes or wait at the virtual bus stop that has been determined by Tron. This virtual stop can be a location commonly used by drivers to wait and transport passengers. The driver will pick up according to the pick-up point if there are consumers who make requests.

Users can reserve more than one bench for colleagues who go together. Later Tron will provide recommendations for transportation modes according to demand.

"We call this concept controlled flexibility. There is a special route created to bring the driver closer to the passengers in the residential area. So this option can only be passed by the driver if there is a request."

The way the driver works will also change. They don't need to focus on finding passengers by lingering at one point because passengers are definitely obtained through Tron. They are no longer being chased by deposits, they only need to improve their services so that users are comfortable.

Currently the new application accommodates payments using cash. It is planned that in the near future it will be integrated with KasPro and other electronic money players.

According to David, if the cashless option is available, the tariff will follow the applicable rules. There are no artificial tariffs from Tron specifically for its users. Users will be charged a booking fee plus a tariff that is immediately deducted every time they make a transaction.

"The driver will receive incentives and daily wages in the amount according to the rules. We also bear the rent and gas costs. There is no subscription fee for the driver. We do not allow shooting drivers to operate Tron. There is a verification that must be done."

Bekasi was chosen as pilot project Tron, because it is a satellite city adjacent to Jakarta. The availability of public transportation in this city is classified as on the verge of extinction. Nevertheless, the Bekasi City Government is interested in the Tron concept because it wants to revive public transportation.

Tron starts with 150 units of public transportation which is divided into two routes, K-11 which is divided into three routes and K-12 which consists of one route. Gradually the implementation of Tron will target the entire city of Bekasi so that it can be enjoyed by all residents.

Tron strategies and plans

Tron will expand its penetration to five suburbs of Jakarta, such as Tangerang and Depok. The company is preparing to cooperate with various public transport managers, such as Koasi (Bekasi Transport Cooperative), Organda (Land Transport Organization), and so on to attract public transport owners.

David targets at least this year the company can digitize 7 thousand units of public transportation, which consists of various types of modes, such as city transportation, bajaj, buses, microbuses, and others that have not been touched by digital implementation.

"Our investors are serious enough to develop Tron so that it is integrated with various types of public transportation that connects the MRT and KRL lines. We are even ready to recruit urban planning experts to help the mapping system in each city so that it is more quickly available in Tron."

Regarding the strategy with big players, David said that the company has a pretty strong proposition because it has a vision to digitize public transportation so that it still has value in the field. Public transportation is the official yellow plated mode of transportation from the government, so Tron is not expected to add more vehicles to the road.