'Bentor', global product with local touch

Ahmad Suaedy, Contributor, Jakarta

Any idea what a bentor is? You can't find it in any dictionary as it is simply short for becak-motor or bendi-motor (a combination of a pedicab or buggy and a motorcycle), a term coined by the people of Gorontalo in northern Sulawesi.

The bentor has remained Gorontalo's main means of transport while people in Jakarta are still involved in protracted arguments over pedicabs (becak), the use of which, the local government says, is an inhuman exploitation of the drivers.

In Jakarta, where more than three million motorized vehicles jam the streets, people also debate the use of bajaj (motorized tricycles) because they produce so much noise and pollute the atmosphere.

Ah, the Jakartans are also hotly debating the proposed kancil mini-automobile, which is intended to replace both becak and bajaj. This has provoked much debate because the policy smacks of collusion.

Before minivans began to be used as a means of city transportation in many places across the country, the people of Gorontalo preferred to use their traditional means of transportation, a pedicab or a horse-drawn buggy.

As people became more mobile, they could no longer rely on pedicabs or buggies. Minivans? They were not considered mobile enough as a means of city transportation because their routes were fixed. After years of racking their brains, the people of Gorontalo have finally come up with the bentor, an all-purpose and highly mobile means of public transportation.

A bentor comprises two vehicles: a locally designed pedicab- like vehicle, which uses, on each side, motorcycle wheels connected to its rear with a motorcycle whose front wheel and head have been removed, except for the handlebars.

This smart combination can take three passengers: two sitting in the pedicab and one riding on the motorcycle behind the driver. A newly modified bentor now has the steering wheel of a car instead of motorcycle handlebars.

The locally designed pedicab has a roof that protrudes both forward and backward to protect all passengers from sunshine and rain. Because of their high mobility, bentor are now more common than ordinary pedicabs, buggies or even minivans.

Thousands of bentor roam the roads in Gorontalo and in outlying towns. "Every morning the roads are crowded with bentor," said a driver of one, who added that last year he had bought on credit a Honda Supra 2001 for Rp 12 million, which he had combined with a locally designed pedicab that cost him Rp 2 million. Working from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., he said, he could earn between Rp 50,000 and Rp 60,000 per day. "When there are few passengers, we take a rest," he added.

If you have some money or collateral, you can borrow money from a bank to buy a motorcycle and turn it into a bentor. Even banks know that the earnings from operating a bentor can be good enough for the loan to be repaid.

Unfortunately, the price of both the motorcycle and pedicab have continued to rise. Another owner and operator of a bentor spent Rp 14 million on a 2002-model Suzuki Shogun motorcycle and Rp 3 million on the pedicab.

"The total price reaches Rp 17 million to Rp 18 million for brand new ones, depending on the type of the motorcycle," he added. This man has pledged his land to the bank as loan collateral. He is optimistic, though, that he can repay the loan within three months to four months and afterwards may still use his bentor to earn a living.

The use of bentor as a means of city transportation has also been approved by Gorontalo municipality administration. Gorontalo municipality secretary Nurdin Mogoginta said only the safety rules for passengers had to be observed. The municipality administration, he added, had therefore liaised with the local police to draw up safety standards for bentor passengers.

"There are standard requirements, for example, on the size of the iron bars used to fabricate a pedicab for two passengers. Then the parts to be welded must also be selected to ensure that there are no accidents due to poor design," he said.

In Gorontalo municipality, he went on, the bentor is an "official" means of public transportation because, just like a taxi, it has to carry a yellow number plate. Besides, the municipal administration is now trying hard to get the bentor accepted in Central, South-East and North Sulawesi. "The bentor is still rejected in these areas on the grounds of the absence of an official regulation on this means of transportation," Mogoginta said.

He also hoped that the approval that the Gorontalo municipality administration had given to bentor would encourage bentor producers to design a mechanical pedicab so that no built- up motorcycles would be needed and the price might fall.

So, here is bentor, a global product with a touch of local creativity.