Jakarta motorcycles outgrow police's numbering system
Jakarta motorcycles outgrow police's numbering system
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The sharp increase in the number of motorcycles in the capital --
thanks to producers offering affordable prices through the media
-- has forced the Jakarta Police to add one more letter in new
motorcycles plate numbers as of last week.
"There are a total of 3,276,890 motorcycles registered at the
city police traffic division so far. We expect the number to
increase by 35,000 per month this year," said the Jakarta Police
traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak on Tuesday.
"Since we have run out of combinations (for the plate
numbers), we decided to add one letter," he said, adding that the
police have issued hundreds of new plates.
Previously, the police issued the plate number with B followed
by four digits and two letters. The B indicates Jakarta.
The new plate numbers will have a similar combination except
that they now will have three letters.
Sulistyo acknowledged that more and more people are buying
motorcycles due to Jakarta's chronic traffic jams and the lack of
comfortable yet affordable public transportation.
Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Motorcycle
Companies, Ridwan Gunawan, concurred.
"Besides, many people cannot afford to buy a car," Ridwan
said, adding that the most popular motorcycle was in the Rp 10
million (US$1,176) to Rp 11 million price range.
Japanese motorcycle companies have produced affordable
motorcycles to compete against cheaper Chinese products, which
started to flood the country around four years ago when Indonesia
was recovering from the economic crisis.
Ridwan said the association expected motorcycle sales to grow
by 15 percent this year.
"Last year, we managed to sell around 3.1 million units
nationwide," he said. "This year, we expect sales to reach 3.56
million units."
As for cars, the Jakarta Police traffic division has recorded
a total of 1,464,600 units with an expected growth of around
6,000 units per month this year.
The cheapest new car in Indonesia is being offered for less
than Rp 70 million (off the road).