Hawkers make a living on buses around city

Hawkers make a living on buses around city

Leo Wahyudi S., The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Although city buses are not really supermarkets, passengers may
buy a variety of goods on them at low prices.

It is very common nowadays to see hawkers getting in and out
of buses, not only at bus stops but also at traffic lights in the
city. Sometimes even along toll roads during traffic jams.

Even people traveling on the buses along the main roads, such
as Jl. Thamrin, Jl. Sudirman, Jl. Gatot Subroto, and the Jakarta-
Merak toll road, will have a chance of hearing hawkers offering
their merchandise, which includes stationery, housewares, snacks
and fresh fruit.

Sabam Manurung, 34, a welding supervisor at a construction
company three years ago, is a hawker. He was laid off by his
company following the economic crisis in 1998.

The father of two children, who lives in Manggarai, South
Jakarta sells scissors, glue, cotton buds, and pins. "I like
selling goods this way as it is profitable," said Sabam, who
comes from Sibolga in North Sumatra.

He purchased his merchandise from wholesalers in the Mester
market at Jatinegara, East Jakarta, because it was cheap there.

He made a profit of 30 percent to 50 percent. For instance, he
bought a pair of scissors at Rp 750 but sold them at a minimum
price of Rp 1,000. But sometimes he managed to sell them for more
than that.

He claimed that with an average sale of four dozen to five
dozen items per day, he could earn a net income of about Rp
30,000.

"That's much better than my income as a supervisor a few years
ago," Sabam proudly told The Jakarta Post.

Emil, 24, another hawker, seemed to be luckier in selling
multipurpose knives, which move well. "I can sell on average
three dozen knives per day, earning a daily net income of around
Rp 70,000," he said.

He relies on his ability to use promotional patter to attract
passengers to buy his goods. He seemed to have boundless reserves
of energy for getting on and off buses that passed in front of
him to explain in amusing fashion the use of his goods to
passengers.

"My patter is the key to attracting buyers," Emil said, noting
that most passengers bought his goods due to his persuasiveness
and the lower prices he offered compared with those for goods
sold at supermarkets.

Emil, who has been working as a street hawker for 12 years,
underlined the importance of communication skills to win over
public transportation passengers. Otherwise, a hawker would
suffer great losses, he said.

Sabam and Emil said that they enjoyed being street hawkers as
they were their own bosses, despite the fact that sometimes they
got into difficulty.

"Sometimes the bus crews won't let us board. At other times we
have found that passengers have felt bothered by our presence.
Once I was spat at by a passenger," Emil said. "I wonder why
passengers feel upset at us as we're only trying to earn a
living."