'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.