The Birds of Jakarta

A very reliable way to get around Jakarta is via the Blue Bird Taxi Group. With Blue Bird, one hardly goes wrong. Drivers are courteous, they apologize if they accidentally took a wrong turn and had to make a longer route (happened to me!) and all major shopping malls in Jakarta usually have a dedicated queue for Blue Bird taxis.

For economy prices, go for the blue color taxis. I remembered once I decided to fly into Jakarta quietly without telling Hubs, with the intention to surprise him. That was really my first time of taking a public transport over here. As soon as I exited the airport, I feverishly searched for the turquoise blue bird logo. At the airport, hailing a taxi can be chaotic. And if you don't keep your wits around you, you may end up with a less reliable taxi service. I nearly got touted but stood my ground and insisted my blue bird. Phew! Close call...

If you have a bit more cash to spare, there's the executive class called Silver Bird. These taxis are almost exclusively Mercedes Benz. And they go back black colour with white "Silver Bird" wording. Pretty executive I would say. Price-wise, slightly more premium, but I don't think it's a lot. Maybe after USD, it's probably few bucks more premium that the blue ones. Personally, I have not sit in any of these, but I heard some of the drivers can speak some English. So not too bad a way to travel, if you need some local commentary. 

I have also found out pretty recently that Blue Bird group have apps supported by iPhone and Android for you to order your taxi. I have since downloaded it for just-in-case, but have not personally experience its reliability. But from what I heard, it was quite ok.

And this is one sure way to travel.  What happens when you need a big people carrier? Well fret not, coz Blue Bird has just the solution. Say Hello to Big Bird! :))