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)