Becak drivers protest govt policy

Becak drivers protest govt policy

JAKARTA (JP): Seeking a flexible policy on the presence of
becak (pedicabs) in the capital, some 60 pedicab drivers staged a
protest at City Hall demanding limited becak operational zones in
the city.

The drivers, grouped under the Daya Manunggal Becak
Association, said the City Council should amend the 1988 city
bylaw, which regulates Jakarta as a pedicab-free area.

"The amendment should include article 18, which bans becak in
the city. We propose limited becak operational zones, in
residential areas and traditional markets," association chairman
Jukiman Suseno told councillors. Jukiman himself is a becak
driver.

"We will keep the number of becak under 10,000 to keep the
traffic flow in the areas," he promised.

The association also demanded the council prevent mayors from
procuring becak.

"Selling our becak will only mean losses for us. The city
administration has offered to purchase our becak at Rp 250,000
(US$35) each, while we bought them for Rp 800,000 each," said a
driver.

Instead of the offer to buy the becak, the administration also
promised to provide a transportation allowance for the drivers to
return to their hometowns.

Jukiman criticized the plan to change the livelihood of the
drivers through labor intensive projects as "inadequate and not
promising."

"Being a becak driver is the only way we can earn a living.
It's also our contribution to decrease the number of unemployed
people in the city," he said. (05)