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.