• Grab, Yogyakarta Tourism Agency and Yogyakarta Transportation Agency are teaming up to launch a new iconic hyperlocal transportation service, GrabAndong in Yogyakarta.
• GrabAndong was launched alongside the 2019 Malioboro Night Festival to increase tourism appeal and the number of visits  to tourism destination in Yogyakarta and provide a unique yet interesting experience for tourists.
• Through the Yogyakarta Andong Community, a portion of GrabAndong’s income will be used to support horse care programs supported by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Gadjah Mada University (UGM).

Yogyakarta, August 23, 2019 – Ministry of Tourism through Wonderful Indonesia’s co-branding partner, Grab empower iconic hyperlocal transportation, GrabAndong,  a horse-driven carriage. This iconic hyperlocal collaboration is proven to attract more tourists to visit Yogyakarta. 

Arief Yahya, Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Governor of Yogyakarta Special Province and Neneng Goenadi, Managing Director of Grab Indonesia officially inaugurated GrabAndong alongside with the 2019 Malioboro Night Festival, at Malioboro Street on Friday (23/08).

Arief Yahya, Minister of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia expressed his appreciation for Grab’s initiatives which continuously support ‘Wonderful Indonesia’ through the improvement of the iconic local transportation models quality that can provide new and unique experiences for attracting tourists.   

“We hope technology support will also increase tourists to visit this destination,” Minister Arief Yahya added. 

Minister of Tourism also said that Indonesia is a country that is rich in culture and natural beauty and ‘Wonderful Indonesia’  becoming a continuous initiative of the Ministry of Tourism to promote tourist destinations. 

After the launch of GrabBajay in Jakarta, GrabBetor in Medan, and GrabBentor in Gorontalo, we greatly appreciate Grab’s initiative to support the quality improvement of the iconic local transportation models in Yogyakarta that can provide new and unique experiences for attracting tourists. 

“GrabAndong, with the support of technology, will attract more and more tourists to visit destinations in the Malioboro and Yogyakarta regions,” he adds.

Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Governor of the Special Province of Yogyakarta explained that Yogyakarta is not only offering the beauty of its locations, Yogyakarta also offers unique transportation means that attract tourists. 

“Yogyakarta also offers andong as one of the main transportation that attracts tourists. This will be a memorable experiences when they visit Yogyakarta,” said Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

According to the Yogyakarta Special Region Tourism Agency’s data, the number of tourists visiting Yogyakarta is increasing every year. In 2017, the average number of  tourists reached 435,775 people, of which around 50 percent visited the Malioboro area. 

“With the increasing number of tourists, of course, it can be used to encourage the potential use of carriages as supporting transportation,” Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X adds.

Neneng Goenadi, Managing Director of Grab Indonesia said that he launch of GrabAndong is a form of support from Grab to preserve the rich diversity of traditions and culture of Yogyakarta for the surrounding population and tourists. 

“We are pleased to be able to facilitate their needs who want to explore the Malioboro area with a unique traditional mode of transportation combined with the support of the latest technology,” she said. 

This launch completes our support for the tourism sector in Yogyakarta after previously supporting the ARTJOG MMXIX and Malioboro Night Festival 2019.

Through the GrabAndong feature, Grab would like to increase driver-partners and Andong owners’ income by improving productivity.  In addition, by providing unique and comfortable transportation solutions for tourists, communities around the tourism destinations can also get an economic boost from these visits.

Currently, there are 500 Andongs spread out in Malioboro. However, for the first GrabAndong phase, only 26 Andongs are registered for the initial project. Going forward, Grab will add more driver-partners, which is around 200 partners to GrabAndong, within the next six months.

The support for horse care and Andong sustainability in Yogyakarta

The presence of GrabAndong is also inseparable from the collaboration of Grab with the Yogyakarta Andong Community and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UGM, where this service is also fully supported by the Yogyakarta Transportation Agency. Some of the income of GrabAndong will be given to the Yogyakarta Andong Community to be used as a form of support for their horse care. Thus, the horses used for GrabAndong are guaranteed to have well-maintained health.

Purwanto as Chairperson of the Yogyakarta Andong Community said, “Regarding horse care, our horses are intensively monitored every day, starting from treatments such as cleaning the horses, and caring for the horse shoes, as well as bathing them. Every day, Andong runs a maximum of 6-7 hours. Every time they stop, we always give them water to drink.”

Dr. drh. Yuriadi, M.P. from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UGM explained, “Horses used for andong in GrabAndong are horses that are closely guarded by the Yogyakarta Andong Community. Moreover, they are given adequate food portions and herbs so their stamina is maintained every day. If a horse is sick, we will always check their condition.”

Want to try GrabAndong on Jalan Malioboro?

If you have ever been to Yogyakarta, you must have traveled to Malioboro, which is known to be quite  phenomenal. This area is filled with several historic locations, such as the Yogyakarta Monument, Vredeburg castle, and the Serangan Umum 1 Maret Monument. At the zero kilometer point, there is a legacy building owned by BNI. Three hundred meters to the south, there is the North Square which can be easily visited and there is one of the most iconic places in Yogyakarta, namely the Sultanate Palace of Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat and the Kauman Great Mosque. If you are in the Malioboro area, you can certainly order GrabAndong easily and practically from the Grab application. Here are the steps.

1. Select Rent Andong from the Explore Car menu and then Rent at the top right
2. Customers can choose the pickup place and how long it will take
3. Select payment type: cash or OVO
4. Rental prices for the first 1 hour Rp. 150,000 *. If there is overtime, the fee will be Rp. 1,250 per minute

During the pilot project period, GrabAndong will only operate on a limited basis along the Malioboro road area.