'Bemo' drivers want to stay in business

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

"We demand that the Bogor administration cancel its plan to replace bemo with public minivans," said Oding Abdul Kadir, a driver of one of the small three-wheel public vehicles while waiting for passengers on Jl. Pasir Kuda Ciomas, Bogor.

"We pay Rp 30,000 (US$3.10) a month in operational fees to officials," he told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

One of the oldest modes of transportation besides becak (three-wheel pedicab) and delman (horse-drawn buggy), the total number of bemo in the municipality has reached 3,500.

The local administration says that bemo contribute to heavy traffic congestion in Bogor, thus they have been trying since 2001 to gradually replace bemo, each of which can carry a maximum of seven passengers, with public minivans, which can carry at least 12 people.

However, only a few bemo owners were able to pay the installments on a minivan.

This has prompted the Bogor Transportation Agency to make plans to totally prohibit bemo in the near future.

Agency head Hari Harsono said that the administration has a new plan to reduce the number of bemo, by only allowing public minivans to operate.

"We have to make the drivers understand the problems we are facing. We don't want to cause unrest among bemo drivers," he said.

According to Oding, currently there are 116 bemo still operational that serve routes from Jl. Pasir Kuda Ciomas to Pancasan Empang, and from Hotel Pangrango to Sukasari.

"We used to get Rp 30,000 per day, but now we only get Rp 20,000 since the administration opened new routes for public minivans from Sukasari to the Bubulak bus terminal.

"We cannot afford the down payment of Rp 1 million set by the dealer to get a public minivan," Oding said.