JAKARTA. Ride-hailing app Uber Technologies has introduced its newest product UberPOOL to Jakarta, the first city it has been introduced in Southeast Asia.

The new product will enable its users to share rides and split the fare with other users heading in the same direction.

"Carpooling is not something new. What Uber provides is the smart technology and safety layer that makes it faster, more convenient, and just generally better," said Uber Asia Pacific regional manager Mike Brown at a press conference on Wednesday.

He stated that he chose Jakarta because the number of Uber users and drivers had grown rapidly since it entered the Indonesian market in August 2014.

The average pick-up time for an Uber user to find a driver is cited at just around six minutes currently, he said.

The company also aims to reduce the number of vehicles on the street with the service, as it said 6,000 new vehicles swarmed on to Jakarta’s streets every day.

Brown said that he was not worried about new regulations as the firm was acquiring the necessary permits with its partner, Jasa Trans Usaha Bersama cooperative.

The government has set a deadline of May 31 for the cooperative to get the permit to operate a transportation business legally, along with its fellow ride hailing app Grab. "The government is aware of UberPOOL. We continue working with the government," he said.

Uber currently operates in several Indonesian cities, namely Jakarta; Bandung, West Java; Surabaya, East Java; and in Bali. (Farida Susanty)

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Editor: Dupla Kartini