Pickups available for rent under Slipi flyover

Pickups available for rent under Slipi flyover

By Listiana Operananta

JAKARTA (JP): If you pass under the Slipi flyover you might
wonder why there are so many pickup trucks lined up. Is it a
used-car lot? No, it's not -- it's a pickup rental area.

The pickups are rented to transport all kinds of items, from
people's belongings to freshly purchased groceries at the market
for shop owners.

If you ever have a chance to stop there -- although it would
be kind of difficult because you would block traffic -- you could
spot men, young and middle-aged, hanging out there.

These are the drivers and the drivers' assistants.

The Jakarta Post reporter was immediately surrounded when she
approached the site.

"Would you like to rent a pickup, mbak (Miss)? What kind of
things do you need transported? How many pickups do you need?"
they asked.

All of them spoke in a heavy Javanese accent. "We all come
from the same village in Jepara, Central Java," one of the men
said.

The man, Pak Darim, 30, seemed to be the oldest, because his
friends respected him. He acted like a true public relations
officer to the press.

Darim said there were 23 pickups with around 20 drivers and 15
assistants. "Each of us have a different boss, because some have
four cars, but others only one," he said,

But Darim also said that most of the bosses were Javanese who
also ran other businesses in Jakarta. "They entrust us with the
pickup rental business," he said

Darim also said that since most of the owners came from the
same town, all drivers and assistants came from the same town
too.

"The youngest driver we have is only 15 years old," he said
with a smile of a conspiracy.

He said most drivers only went to junior high school -- some
even only had an elementary education.

"We don't have enough money for an education, so when we were
young we all learned how to drive cars, with the intention of
going to Jakarta and becoming drivers," he said.

Darim also said that one of the drivers, who was in Bali on
business, was a graduate of the University of Diponegoro in
Semarang. "He didn't find a job here or back home, so he became a
driver," he said.

The drivers all agreed with Darim and that in their hometown
they could not make ends meet.

When asked whether they were much better off now, the drivers
all laughed and said, "Of course not!"

"But here we can earn much more by experiencing things," they
said.

Replacement

Darim said the average length of their experiences ranged from
two years to eight years. "We always seek someone back home when
a replacement is needed," he said.

Drivers and assistants are paid on commission. Each month they
pay their monthly earnings minus 35 percent of their due to
pickup owners. Out of the remaining 35 percent, 20 percent goes
to the driver and 15 percent to the assistant.

They said every month they also pay Rp 30,000 (US$12.30) per
vehicle to a nearby police station and Rp 40,000 to the City Land
Transportation Agency.

Togek, another driver, said that they have to pay or they
cannot do business in the area. He also said that they have to
shoulder the burden even when they have to borrow money from
friends.

"We know they're illegal levies, but one of my friends was
prohibited (from driving) for a month because he couldn't afford
to pay," Togek said.

Customers, they said, were not regular.

They said income was not enough especially for those who have
to send money to families back home. (None of them has brought
family to Jakarta).

"Sometimes I can send Rp 40,000 home every month, but
sometimes I can't even send a penny. So I think it would be very
difficult to bring a family here. I can't afford to send my kids
to school here," Darim said.

He also said that they have to rent a small cubical room with
six friends in nearby Pejompongan. He said the rent was fairly
cheap because each only pays Rp 15,000 per month.

"Life is not easy here, but with so many friends we always
manage to make ends meet," Togek said.

But neither Darim nor the other drivers have any intention to
go back to their hometown.

"We love it here. There are malls we can go and see, even
though we've never bought anything. We can also find all kinds of
different jobs if we get bored. Many opportunities are
available," Darim said, and his statement was supported by the
others.