Tangerang puzzled by thousands of pedicabs
Tangerang puzzled by thousands of pedicabs
TANGERANG (JP): The Jakarta Administration has imposed a ban
on becak (pedicab) in the capital; the streets of the neighboring
Tangerang administration, however, are now teeming with around
5,000 pedicabs.
Pedicabs have mushroomed in Tangerang, causing heavy traffic
congestion and other disturbances, as they often ignore road
directions, particularly one-way street signs.
Among the roads currently jammed by pedicabs are the main
thoroughfares of Benteng Jaya and Ki Asnawi. They also crowd
almost every intersection in the city.
Tangerang City spokesman Sabar Situmorang said the local
administration had set a limit of 3,000 pedicabs in the city.
"But it is hard to drive them away as they come from outside
the city," Sabar said, adding that most of them had come from
Java, and had failed to obtain permits to operate in Jakarta.
"It's true that we are facing problems with their existence
but, honestly, we don't know what to do with them," Sabar said.
The administration is to charge illegal street vendors as well
as pedicabs violating existing regulations, he said.
Tangerang, however, has not yet banned pedicabs from
operating.
Most pedicab drivers said they had no other choice but to make
a living from driving.
"I have no skills or proper educational background. This is my
life. Otherwise, how am I going to live?" Muhidin, a pedicab
driver for three years, said.
Other pedicab drivers said they couldn't possibly get other
jobs in the current economic climate.
"Before the crisis there were many construction projects to
work on ... from building roads and houses to repairing drains.
But now, we have no choice," a pedicab driver from Central Java
said.
Many residents, however, expressed their support for the
pedicab, saying it was a cheap mode of personal transportation
that can also be used for goods.
"It's such a multipurpose vehicle. If there are no becak, how
could we go to the market or carry our shopping?" Ety, a
housewife, said.
The pedicab is known to be one of the most traditional and
effective means of transportation in Java. But their existence on
the city's streets, busy with cars, buses and trucks, is
something of an anomaly.
Many pedicab drivers also lack an awareness of traffic
regulations.
President Abdurrahman Wahid ended a prolonged dispute between
the city administration and pedicab drivers last year, when he
met with some 10,000 poor people, including pedicab drivers, at
the Senayan Sports Stadium in Central Jakarta.
"Peddling a becak is inhumane," said Gus Dur, as the President
is popularly known.
He supported the Jakarta Administration's move to ban pedicabs
from operating on the city's streets. At least 6,621 pedicabs are
currently operating on the capital's streets, with approximately
95 percent of the drivers being non-Jakarta residents.
In a move to accelerate the establishment of a becak-free
Jakarta, the administration had offered to buy each pedicab for
Rp 250,000 (US$35.7) and to provide a transportation allowance
for any pedicab drivers willing to return to their hometowns.
Most drivers operating in Jakarta come from Cirebon in West
Java; and Banyumas, Tegal, Brebes and Pekalongan in Central Java.
(41/edt)