Tangerang to eliminate 'becak'

Tangerang to eliminate 'becak'

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Blaming becak (pedicabs) as the main cause of traffic disruption,
the Tangerang municipal administration plans to eliminate the
oldest form of public transportation from the roads gradually,
the first phase taking place after the April elections.

"The number of becak operating in the municipality keeps on
increasing; most are a spillover from Jakarta, whose
administration has banned them since 1998," mayor Wahidin Halim
told Tangerang City Council on Monday.

He was submitting the drafts of 11 new bylaws, including one
on the prohibition of becak.

Currently, at least 700 becak freely traverse the
municipality's main roads.

Wahidin further told The Jakarta Post that Tangerang had
delayed the enforcement of a 1995 bylaw on becak-free zones to
accommodate the drivers evicted from Jakarta during the bleakest
period of the country's monetary and security crisis.

"We have shown enough tolerance," he said.

The administration's plan quickly attracted public support.

"I would be very grateful if there were no becak on the street
because they often breach traffic regulations, causing traffic
congestion and accidents," a father of two, Safril Elain, 45,
from Bona housing complex, Kebon Nanas, Cikokol, told the Post.

Nur Khavivah, 30, who lives on Jl. H. Mencong, Cileduk, said
becak drivers did not care about passenger safety.

"The driver of a becak in which I once traveled cut into heavy
traffic without looking first. A speeding car hit us. I and my
son, as well as the driver, had to be hospitalized for two weeks
due to severe injuries," she said.

On another occasion, Khavivah accidentally hit a becak that
suddenly crossed the road in front of her as she drove her car on
Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan. The becak driver had to undergo bone
surgery.

Muksih, 40, a becak driver, who daily operates at Pasar
Anyar traditional market, said the ban would cause them more
suffering.

"We are already poor; how we can earn money to feed our
families? Right now, I don't even know whether I can still send
my children to school," he said.

Councilor Sadjiran Tarmizie of council Commission E overseeing
economic and social affairs pointed out that the administration
should first revoke the obsolete 1995 bylaw before replacing it
with a new one.

"And as a solution to the problems that will be faced by the
becak drivers, they should be allowed to operate in residential
areas only."

Besides the prohibition on becak, the Tangerang administration
also submitted a draft bylaw to prohibit the flying of kites near
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Cengkareng, as their
presence was considered to disrupt flights.