Life much harder now for 'bajaj' drivers

Life much harder now for 'bajaj' drivers

After transporting Jakartans for nearly 30 years, the days of
bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicles) are numbered. The city
administration will phase out the Indian-made bajaj in favor of
locally made kancil (four-wheeled motorized vehicles). The
Jakarta Post's Urip Hudiono has observed the problems faced by
bajaj drivers. This is the second of six articles.

Dozens of bajaj drivers were waiting for passengers in front of
Mayestik market in South Jakarta. A woman, who was carrying
groceries, approached one of them, asking him to take her to
nearby Kebayoran Lama.

The two bargained, finally agreeing upon a fare of Rp 7,000
(78 U.S. cents), up from her offer of Rp 5,000 and lower than the
driver's of Rp 10,000. As it departed for Kebayoran Lama, the
orange bajaj spewed out thick black fumes.

"The fare was reasonable, although other passengers might
drive a harder bargain," commented Dasuki, a driver. "Even if we
get less than we ask for, it's better than losing passengers."

Times are tough for bajaj drivers, who struggle every day to
get enough passengers. The increasing number of ojek (motorcycle
taxi) drivers and the expanding area covered by public minivans
only make things worse.

Dasuki said bajaj drivers pay between Rp 25,000 and Rp 30,000
to rent a bajaj for half a day from the owner. Most drivers share
one bajaj between two -- one driver works from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.,
the other from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m.

"I have to pay Rp 26,000 for half a day, excluding the cost of
gasoline and oil," he said.

Beside that, bajaj drivers at Mayestik have agreed to pay a
daily parking fee of Rp 1,000, double the official fee of Rp 500.

"We have agreed to give the parking attendant extra," Dasuki
said.

At the end of the day, Dasuki only manages to take home Rp
14,000, at the most. His daily income has decreased from two
years ago, when it was around Rp 23,000.

Dasuki, who has been a bajaj driver since 1986, said he could
make extra money fixing bajaj when they broke down.

The administration plans to gradually replace around 14,000
bajaj in the city with locally assembled kancil.

Although some residents support the plan, arguing that kancil
are more environmentally friendly than bajaj -- which have been
operating in the city since 1975 -- many of them still rely upon
the vehicle for short trips.

"Now, fewer passengers use bajaj from here (Mayestik) to as
far as Ciputat or Ciledug, for example," said another driver
Ramlan. "Most of them use bajaj only for short trips, like from
here to Kebayoran Lama."

He pointed to ojek as the bajaj's main competitor.

"We don't mind competing against ojek, but many of the drivers
are employees seeking extra money in their spare time," he said.
"We, on the other hand, drive bajaj as our only source of
income."

Ramlan suggested that the administration regulate ojek
drivers, such as requiring that the motorcycles carry yellow
police license plates, which would indicate that they were
official public transportation. Also their operational areas
should be limited, to avoid overlapping with bajaj, he said.

Ramlan said the replacement of bajaj with kancil must be done
in a fair way.

"One kancil for one bajaj. If the city operates kancil without
withdrawing bajaj, then the competition will be fiercer for us."

Responding to complaints that the bajaj have caused air and
noise pollution in the city, Ramlan argued "That's just
complaints from the rich."

"I've been driving bajaj for 15 years, still I have no health
problems resulting from exhaust fumes."