Islandwide Gojek service to start Jan 2 evening, leaving some early customers disappointed
Gojek is expected to go head on with rival Grab this year as it expands it service to all Singapore users and coverage goes islandwide.
SINGAPORE — Commuters attempting to get a Gojek ride from the northern and western parts of Singapore on Wednesday morning (Jan 2) had to wait till the evening instead, as the ride-hailing firm said that the islandwide rollout would start later in the day.
Gojek was responding to queries from TODAY after some users lamented that the service was not yet available in some places.
On Tuesday, Gojek announced that its services would be extended to all of Singapore the day after, having previously only served the eastern and south-central parts of the island.
Gojek sent out emails to commuters on Wednesday morning, informing them that services would only be available islandwide from the evening.
Prior to the morning rush hour on Wednesday, the Indonesia-based firm sent an email notifying passengers that the service would only kick off islandwide in the evening. Drivers were informed on Tuesday night.
In response to queries, Gojek stressed that there was no delay in its islandwide launch. The service was available as of 4pm on Wednesday.
One commuter, Mr Chong Foo Sin, had tried to book a Gojek ride from Woodlands to Admiralty at about 6am on Wednesday morning, to no avail. His attempts at booking rides to Yishun and Sembawang were also unsuccessful.
“I read in the papers, everywhere… they announced that they were available (from Wednesday), but I tried this morning and I was very surprised, seems like it is still not going anywhere,” said the 49-year-old admin executive.
When told that the islandwide services would only start in the evening, Mr Chong said: “This is not what (Gojek) said (initially). They should not tell people that it is ready and should only launch when the services can be used.”
Logistics executive Jaime Wee, 33, also failed to book a ride from Jurong to Bukit Batok on Wednesday morning. She had hoped to compare its prices against rival firms Grab and Ryde.
Ms Wee said she only received Gojek’s email “at around 10.30am”.
She added that passengers could have been informed before Wednesday morning to avoid disappointments.
Mr Chong added: “If Gojek wishes to be something new, then they should get it right from the start.”
