'Bentor', global product with local touch<\/p>\n
Ahmad Suaedy, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Any idea what a bentor is? You can't find it in any dictionary
\nas it is simply short for becak-motor or bendi-motor (a
\ncombination of a pedicab or buggy and a motorcycle), a term
\ncoined by the people of Gorontalo in northern Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
The bentor has remained Gorontalo's main means of transport
\nwhile people in Jakarta are still involved in protracted
\narguments over pedicabs (becak), the use of which, the local
\ngovernment says, is an inhuman exploitation of the drivers.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, where more than three million motorized vehicles
\njam the streets, people also debate the use of bajaj (motorized
\ntricycles) because they produce so much noise and pollute the
\natmosphere.<\/p>\n
Ah, the Jakartans are also hotly debating the proposed kancil
\nmini-automobile, which is intended to replace both becak and
\nbajaj. This has provoked much debate because the policy smacks of
\ncollusion.<\/p>\n
Before minivans began to be used as a means of city
\ntransportation in many places across the country, the people of
\nGorontalo preferred to use their traditional means of
\ntransportation, a pedicab or a horse-drawn buggy.<\/p>\n
As people became more mobile, they could no longer rely on
\npedicabs or buggies. Minivans? They were not considered mobile
\nenough as a means of city transportation because their routes
\nwere fixed. After years of racking their brains, the people of
\nGorontalo have finally come up with the bentor, an all-purpose
\nand highly mobile means of public transportation.<\/p>\n
A bentor comprises two vehicles: a locally designed pedicab-
\nlike vehicle, which uses, on each side, motorcycle wheels
\nconnected to its rear with a motorcycle whose front wheel and
\nhead have been removed, except for the handlebars.<\/p>\n
This smart combination can take three passengers: two sitting
\nin the pedicab and one riding on the motorcycle behind the
\ndriver. A newly modified bentor now has the steering wheel of a
\ncar instead of motorcycle handlebars.<\/p>\n
The locally designed pedicab has a roof that protrudes both
\nforward and backward to protect all passengers from sunshine and
\nrain. Because of their high mobility, bentor are now more common
\nthan ordinary pedicabs, buggies or even minivans.<\/p>\n
Thousands of bentor roam the roads in Gorontalo and in
\noutlying towns. \"Every morning the roads are crowded with
\nbentor,\" said a driver of one, who added that last year he had
\nbought on credit a Honda Supra 2001 for Rp 12 million, which he
\nhad combined with a locally designed pedicab that cost him Rp 2
\nmillion. Working from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., he said, he could earn
\nbetween Rp 50,000 and Rp 60,000 per day. \"When there are few
\npassengers, we take a rest,\" he added.<\/p>\n
If you have some money or collateral, you can borrow money
\nfrom a bank to buy a motorcycle and turn it into a bentor. Even
\nbanks know that the earnings from operating a bentor can be good
\nenough for the loan to be repaid.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the price of both the motorcycle and pedicab
\nhave continued to rise. Another owner and operator of a bentor
\nspent Rp 14 million on a 2002-model Suzuki Shogun motorcycle and
\nRp 3 million on the pedicab.<\/p>\n
\"The total price reaches Rp 17 million to Rp 18 million for
\nbrand new ones, depending on the type of the motorcycle,\" he
\nadded. This man has pledged his land to the bank as loan
\ncollateral. He is optimistic, though, that he can repay the loan
\nwithin three months to four months and afterwards may still use
\nhis bentor to earn a living.<\/p>\n
The use of bentor as a means of city transportation has also
\nbeen approved by Gorontalo municipality administration. Gorontalo
\nmunicipality secretary Nurdin Mogoginta said only the safety
\nrules for passengers had to be observed. The municipality
\nadministration, he added, had therefore liaised with the local
\npolice to draw up safety standards for bentor passengers.<\/p>\n
\"There are standard requirements, for example, on the size of
\nthe iron bars used to fabricate a pedicab for two passengers.
\nThen the parts to be welded must also be selected to ensure that
\nthere are no accidents due to poor design,\" he said.<\/p>\n
In Gorontalo municipality, he went on, the bentor is an
\n\"official\" means of public transportation because, just like a
\ntaxi, it has to carry a yellow number plate. Besides, the
\nmunicipal administration is now trying hard to get the bentor
\naccepted in Central, South-East and North Sulawesi. \"The bentor
\nis still rejected in these areas on the grounds of the absence of
\nan official regulation on this means of transportation,\"
\nMogoginta said.<\/p>\n
He also hoped that the approval that the Gorontalo
\nmunicipality administration had given to bentor would encourage
\nbentor producers to design a mechanical pedicab so that no built-
\nup motorcycles would be needed and the price might fall.<\/p>\n
So, here is bentor, a global product with a touch of local
\ncreativity.<\/p>",
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