'Bajaj' drivers, owners oppose 'kancil'
'Bajaj' drivers, owners oppose 'kancil'
Damar Harsanto, Jakarta
More than 3,000 bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) drivers
and owners rallied on Wednesday in front of City Hall to protest
the Jakarta administration's plan to introduce four-wheeled
vehicles known as kancil (literally deer mouse) to the city
beginning next month.
Police were forced to shut down Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan for
two hours because the protesters blocked off the street from in
front of the Vice President's Palace to City Hall with their
bajaj.
The drivers and owners oppose the introduction of the kancil,
which they say will cut into their business because passengers
will prefer the cleaner and quieter kancil to the bajaj.
"I have seen the kancil but I have yet to try one. However, I
think the bajaj is more powerful and tougher than the fiber-
bodied kancil," said Imam, who operates his bajaj in Kebayoran
Lama, South Jakarta.
The three-wheeled vehicles not only serve as taxis for
ferrying passengers, with fares determined through bargaining,
but can also transport goods.
Another driver, Danawihardja, who works in East Jakarta,
worried the kancil would take away passengers and cut into his
daily earnings.
He said he normally made about Rp 70,000 (US$7.50) for a half-
day's work. He pays a rental fee of Rp 47,000 to the owner of the
bajaj and takes home the rest.
Damhuri, who owns 25 bajaj operating in West Jakarta, is
concerned that if he were to switch to kancil his maintenance
costs would rise significantly.
"We can use spare parts from Vespa scooter engines, which are
easy to find and cheap. I don't know how much money I would have
to spend for the kancil," he said.
The kancil are being assembled locally by PT Kurnia Abadi
Niaga Citra Indah Lestari.
It was first proposed in 1999 to phase out bajaj and replace
them with kancil, but the administration repeatedly rejected the
proposal because there was no city bylaw covering this new means
of transportation.
However, in a letter dated May 24 and signed by Deputy
Governor Fauzi Bowo, the administration approved the initial
introduction of 250 kancil citywide beginning in July. The
introduction of the 250 kancil will be accompanied by the removal
of 250 bajaj.
Governor Sutiyoso insisted his administration would not be
persuaded to abandon its plan gradually to replace all 14,612
bajaj in the city with the cleaner kancil.
"Our main concern in replacing the bajaj, which are more than
30 years old, is that they are a source of noise and air
pollution and are not roadworthy compared to the new kancil," he
said.
Sutiyoso said the process of replacing the bajaj with kancil
would be voluntary on the part of bajaj owners.
The three-wheeled vehicles have been plying the city's streets
and roads since the 1970s and the administration of governor Ali
Sadikin.