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).