Only 100 Kancil ready to replace bajaj<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto
\nThe Jakarta Post
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso's intention to replace 14,000 bajaj, Indian-
\nmade three-wheeled taxis, with local-made Kancil vehicles will
\ntake a long time as only 100 Kancil cars have been manufactured.<\/p>\n
The producers, PT Kancil Automotive Marketing Industries,
\nadmitted on Thursday that they were not prepared for the change-
\nover.<\/p>\n
\"However we could increase our production capacity to 1,000 a
\nmonth if Kancil were used as public transportation,\" Kresna
\nDidjaya the company's representative said.<\/p>\n
Kresna claimed that 6,000 -- out of 14,000 bajaj owners
\ninterviewed -- had agreed to replace their vehicles with Kancil.<\/p>\n
But the real problem may be the price difference between
\nKancil and bajaj.<\/p>\n
The price of a Kancil is about Rp 34 million (US$4,000) while
\na bajaj costs Rp 15 million. Many bajaj owners expressed their
\nreluctance to buy a vehicle made by Kancil due to the price.<\/p>\n
Kresna said he would compensate bajaj owners with a Rp 5
\nmillion down payment on the purchase of a Kancil.<\/p>\n
He also suggested that each Kancil driver should pay a Rp
\n50,000 rental fee every day, the same price as renting a bajaj.<\/p>\n
The Governor expressed his intention to get rid of bajaj which
\nare unpopular as they are said to be polluting the city's air.<\/p>\n
\"Bajaj should disappear when Kancil is launched. That's my
\ntarget,\" Sutiyoso said, suggesting that producers make agreements
\nwith bajaj owners to make the change-over smooth.<\/p>\n
He added that Kancil could support the city's busway project
\n(BRT).<\/p>\n
The administration is currently preparing dozens of buses for
\nthe project which will span 15 kilometers from Blok M area in
\nSouth Jakarta to Kota area in West Jakarta. The project will be
\nlaunched in December this year.<\/p>\n
But City Transportation Agency head Rustam Effendy could not
\nconfirm when the four-wheeled Kancils will operate in the city.<\/p>\n
\"It depends on agreements between producers, bajaj owners and
\ndrivers. We will invite them to discuss it next week,\" Rustam
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
If an agreement could be reached, the 14,000 bajaj would be
\ndumped into the sea, Rustam said.<\/p>\n
\"They (bajaj) could become rumpon (cage for fishes),\" he said.<\/p>\n
The administration has done this before, pedicabs were dumped
\ninto the sea after they were banned in the city in the 1980s.<\/p>",
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