Motorcycle taxi drivers fight to survive despite high risks

Motorcycle taxi drivers fight to survive despite high risks

By Ivy Susanti

JAKARTA (JP): Have you had problems getting transportation in
remote areas not reachable by public transportation vehicles? Or
been in a hurry in the middle of the city, but become trapped in
a heavy traffic jam?

It is in situations like these that ojek (motorcycle taxis)
usually come in handy as a means of alternative transportation.

During traffic jams ojek are speedier than other public
transportation vehicles like buses and taxis because they can
swiftly pass through narrow passages and can be used to take
shortcuts through small alleyways.

Usually people decide to use ojek to reach their destinations
rather than taxis or bajaj (three-wheeled motorized vehicles)
when they are in a hurry.

An increasing number of people, especially those dismissed
from their jobs because of the prolonged monetary crisis, have
switched their professions to ojek drivers, especially in housing
complexes.

But being an ojek driver is not always a desirable job given
the risks of being robbed or even murdered by passengers, intent
on stealing their motorcycles. "We need to fill our stomachs. If
they were full, we wouldn't work as ojek drivers. But if we don't
do this work, it means our wives and children will die," Shely
Gozali, an ojek driver operating in Pasar Minggu in South
Jakarta, said.

One of Shely's colleagues, Sugianto, 27, was found dead with
multiple stab wounds on Jl. Kemuning I at Pejaten Timur
subdistrict in South Jakarta on the night of Sept. 17.

His Honda Force-One motorcycle was allegedly stolen by two
unidentified men who pretended to be Sugianto's passengers.

Eyewitnesses said the two people asked Sugianto, a resident of
Jl. Condet Raya in Balekambang subdistrict, East Jakarta, to take
them to the nearby Volvo service building on Jl. Raya Pasar
Minggu. Police are now investigating the case.

There have been a number of ojek drivers murdered by their
passengers for their motorcycles.

Shely explained that he had become adept at recognizing the
intending thieves.

"They usually pretend to ask the driver to take them to a
certain destination after negotiating the cost with the driver
for quite a long time," he said.

"During negotiations, they shift their sights from the driver
to observe the motorcycle," said Shely, who lives on Jl. AUP in
Pasar Minggu subdistrict.

He said that prospective robbers usually prefer drivers with
new motorcycles and ask them to take winding routes.

Another driver, Ismail, admitted that last August, he himself
nearly fell victim to one of his passengers who turned out to be
a thief.

The man asked him to go to Jl. Condet, but as he was
suspicious Ismail again asked his passenger to mention the exact
location, just a few meters away from the ojek base. "Which part
of Jl. Condet do you mean?" he asked.

Jl. Condet is a long-narrow street passing along five
subdistricts in East Jakarta. People used to call the street by
the name of the subdistricts, such as Condet Batu Ampar, when
mentioning the destination.
After being forced to disclose an address, the passenger later
asked him to go to Jl. Inspeksi Saluran Kalimalang, near
Borobudur University, in Cipinang Melayu subdistrict, East
Jakarta, Ismail said, adding that it was far away from the
original destination.

"I immediately asked him to get off my motorcycle. Even though
he threatened not to pay me. I replied, `No problem. Now get
off!'. I wasn't afraid at all because there were many people
watching our conversation," he said.

Hamid, another driver, recalled that six days earlier, an
unidentified passenger asked him to take him to the Blue Diamond
Discotheque on Jl. Tanjung Barat in South Jakarta.

"I was about to turn my motorbike after receiving payment,
when suddenly he grasped my right arm," he said.

"I struggled by pushing him aside so that he fell down. I fled
on my motorcycle, he said, adding that suddenly he spotted two
men, following him on an RX King motorcycle.

"I turned my bike to nearby Gang Langga. Realizing that the
alley was full of youths hanging around in the area, the two men
stopped the hunt," he said.

Most of the ojek drivers said that they would not dare to take
any weapons for self-defense.

"Sometimes I just take screwdrivers for self-defense. But I
dare not take knives or machetes, as I'm afraid of being caught
in police operations. They might suspect me as a robber" said
Ismail, who started to work as an ojek driver in 1989.

Despite the risk, however, the ojek drivers said that they
could make up to Rp 25,000 (US$2.27) each night. If they want to
get more, they operate during the day.