'Ojeks' a common sight in Bau-Bau

'Ojeks' a common sight in Bau-Bau

By Rolex Malaha

BAU-BAU, Buton, Southeast Sulawesi (Antara): The public
transportation vehicles known as ojek (motorcycle taxis) are a
common sight in Bau-bau, the capital of Buton district, one of
the world's largest producers of natural asphalt, in Southeast
Sulawesi.

There are so many of them that Bau-bau is known as Ojek Town.
Although not included in the town's official public
transportation system, ojek roam this town of 300,000 from dawn
to midnight looking for passengers or taking people wherever they
wish to go.

It is interesting to note that in Bau-bau, formerly the seat
of the Buton Sultanate and now the second largest town in
Southeast Sulawesi, ojek play a more important role in
transportation than the official means of public transportation,
including taxis, public vans and pedicabs.

One of the reasons ojek have rapidly grown in number here is
that many roads are not included in the routes plied by the
town's public vans. Another reason is that operating an ojek is a
means of livelihood for many locals, including a number of
migrants from Ambon.

According to data compiled by the Buton ojek cooperative, the
town is home to at least 2,000 ojek drivers, 350 of whom are
university graduates. Driving an ojek is a decent job and drivers
earn about Rp 25,000 a day.

To ensure that ojek drivers abide by the rules of the road,
the Buton traffic and transportation office, in cooperation with
the local police, regularly provide drivers with a course on
traffic rules and signs, and also encourage them to wear helmets.

Buton district head H. Saidoe said that although ojek are not
officially part of the public transportation system, their
presence in Bau-bau has bolstered the development of a number of
centers of economic activity in town.

The Wameo market is an example. Prior to the arrival of the
ojek, this market was on the verge of closing because few people
went there. When the public vans were the only form of public
transportation, it took a long time to reach the market, with the
van taking a circuitous route through the town.

"Another benefit of the presence of ojek is the establishment
of ojek workshops and shops selling spare parts, thus providing
job opportunities to hundreds of people in this town," Saidoe
said.

This has also led to an increasing number of motorcycle
dealerships in Bau-bau. Yan, a staff member at a Honda
dealership, said sales had increased from five motorcycles a
month to some 50 motorcycles a month.

Another factor leading to the mushrooming number of ojek in
town is the income earned by the drivers, who can earn Rp 750,000
a month, much higher than the salary of a middle-ranking civil
servant.

"I'm quite happy with my income. I can feed my family
properly," said Rachman, 34, an ojek driver.

Rachman worked in a port before becoming an ojek driver last
year. He said he was now able to earn between Rp 500,000 and Rp
800,000 a month. In addition to having built a house, he has also
sent two of his children to university.

Another ojek rider, Haeruddin, 45, has been even more
successful than Rachman, now owning five motorcycles. He drives
one motorcycle himself and leases the other four for Rp 15,000 a
day.

A former fish seller, Haeruddin can now earn at least Rp 2
million a month from his five motorcycles. He has some money in
the bank and has sent his children to university.

A migrant from Ambon, Budiman, 35, said he was very grateful
he was able to drive an ojek because the job allowed him to
support his family and rent a house. His family fled Ambon last
February following communal clashes there. Thanks to his work as
an ojek driver, his family no longer depends on food aid from the
social services ministry.

The financial rewards of driving an ojek has led many civil
servants in Buton to take up the job part-time, after office
hours. Some of the civil servants use their own motorcycles while
others rent them.

"By moonlighting as an ojek driver I earn more than my salary
as a civil servant," La Masi said.

The first ojek appeared in Buton in 1993. Three youths, simply
for fun, offered to take some passengers who had arrived at Bau-
bau port to their destinations in town for Rp 500 per ride.

Other people took notice and began charging for rides on their
motorcycles. The industry continued to grow and attract people,
including a number of university graduates who decided to work as
ojek drivers.

The ojek business in Buton peaked in 1998 when Bank Indonesia
extended soft loans worth Rp 500 million to the local ojek
cooperative for the purchase of 100 motorcycles.

As is often the case, what is a sweet pill for some tastes
bitter to others. The happiness of ojek riders in Buton spells
gloom for angkot (public van) operators, who have seen their
earnings steadily decline since the ojek began roaming the town's
roads.

Many public van owners are on the verge of going out of
business because their income has fallen so much they cannot
afford to purchase spare parts.

"Since the ojek began flourishing, angkot earnings have been
down by as much as 70 percent. Previously one van could generate
Rp 75,000 a day, but now the most it can collect is a mere Rp
15,000 a day," said Jumaddin, who owns several angkot.

Clearly, it is not possible to operate with revenue of Rp
15,000 a day. This is not enough money to pay the driver, let
alone purchase spare parts, which have, on the average, risen in
price by 200 percent.

As a result, many angkot owners have shifted to ojek, while
others have reduced the size of their fleets.

The secretary of the Buton branch of the Regional
Transportation Organization, La Ode Asraruddin, said the
organization's members were facing difficult days.

The organization called on its members to go on strike to
attract the attention of relevant parties, but the solutions
reached in the negotiations following the strike have not been
properly implemented.

It was agreed that the number of ojek in Buton would be
limited to 200, but in reality there are close to 2,000 ojek
currently operating in Buton.

"OK, let as many ojek as possible operate, but they must
operate only in certain areas. They must not intrude on the
official angkot routes. Otherwise, angkot in Buton will
eventually be put out of business," said Asraruddin.

Both Buton district head H. Saidoe and the head of the Buton
traffic and transportation office, H. Faudu, realize the negative
impacts of the flourishing ojek industry, but they admit that the
correct solution has not yet been found.