Souped-up 'bajaj' in bid for survival

Souped-up 'bajaj' in bid for survival

Wahyuana, The Jakarta Post, Bekasi

A total makeover may be the answer to the prayers of bajaj
drivers who don't want to lose business but at the same time are
unable to replace their Indian-made three-wheelers with the
expensive, locally made kancil (mini-taxi, literally means "mouse
deer").

With the old bajaj being condemned as an irredeemable
polluter, the new, improved bajaj is a more economical and
environmentally friendly vehicle, and also offers more comfort to
driver and passengers alike.

Powered by a 150cc four-stroke engine that runs on gasoline --
which is more powerful, yet much cleaner and quieter than the
two-stroke engine used by the old ones -- the new bajaj are also
air-conditioned.

"It costs a total of Rp 11 million (US$1,222) to modify
a bajaj, including accessories such as radio, plus another Rp 4
million to install a conversion kit to enable the vehicle to run
on compressed natural gas (CNG), if you want it.

"It is much cheaper than buying a Rp 45 million kancil, but
worth the effort to meet the city administration's requirements
for public transportation vehicles," the brain behind the "bajaj
revolution", FX Jacobus Yut, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Jacobus, who is head of the public minivan and three-wheeled
vehicles unit of the Jakarta branch of the Organization of Land
Transportation Owners (Organda), owns the Eva Maria Garage in
Kranji, Bekasi, which now specializes in modifying bajaj.

However, Jakarta's bajaj are not in the fast lane just yet.

City Bylaw No. 12/2003 on transportation refers to community
service vehicles, which are defined as passenger vehicles serving
restricted areas. This category excludes three-wheeled vehicles.

As part of its effort to gradually eliminate bajaj from city
streets, the Jakarta administration has been introducing the more
spacious, 400cc four-stroke, four-wheel kancil over the past six
months.

Jacobus's optimism was triggered by the warm applause he
received from City Council members during a demonstration at the
council's headquarters on Tuesday, which was followed by a visit
by councilors to his garage on Thursday.

"The chairman of the council's Commission D, Sayogo
Hendrosubroto, even suggested that we paint the new bajaj red and
white, and that we widen the body so that it can take more than
two passengers," he said.

The chairman of the Organda members' empowerment unit, Hizar
Gultom, said that the organization had introduced the new bajaj
to all 4,000 bajaj owners and 50,000 drivers. He said there were
15,000 bajaj in the capital, with each bajaj being driven by
between two and four drivers in rotation every day.

"We hope the administration may reconsider this ... the kancil is
too expensive and we can't just dump the old vehicles. The
modified one provides answers to all the administration's
complaints about bajaj," he said.

Should the Jakarta administration agree, Organda will start to
modify the first 1,000 bajaj within the next three months, with
the plan being that all bajaj in the city will be modified within
two-and-a-half years.

Jacobus and Hizar revealed that Organda would cooperate with
three Chinese engine producers for the supply of engines at
relatively affordable prices.

"The new bajaj has also obtained the support of the
Association of Indonesian Mechanical Engineers, which usually
gives accreditation for innovations in automotive engineering,"
Hizar said.