Three-wheeled vehicles on their last wheel

Three-wheeled vehicles on their last wheel

After serving Jakartans for almost 30 years, bajaj (three-wheeled
motorized vehicles) will soon begin disappearing from the
capital's streets. The city administration will phase out the
Indian-made bajaj in favor of locally made kancil (four-wheeled
motorized vehicles). The Jakarta Post's Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak
has taken a look at what will become of Jakarta's other three-
wheeled vehicles. This is the last of six articles.

It is a normal day for Risnan, 72. He takes the train early in
the morning from his home in Ciledug, Tangerang, eventually
arriving at Jl. Pekalongan in Menteng, Central Jakarta, where he
picks up his waiting three-wheeled helicak (auto pedicab).

At 7 a.m., he starts the engine of the Lambretta scooter, with
its spacious cabin resembling that of a helicopter attached to
the front -- hence it named, a mix of "helicopter" and "becak" --
to pick up the six students he drives to school most mornings.

He will return at noon to take the children home and then
prepare to go home himself at 2:30 p.m., in time to catch the 3
p.m. train at the Tanah Abang railway station.

In between, he will probably be busy with the mechanics and
the media people who want to know more about the only active
helicak left in the capital. Or maybe an entertainer or a
celebrity will hire him for the day. One TV presenter hired the
helicak as a wedding car and had it painted green -- the color it
still retains -- to match the wedding theme.

"There were many of us in the 1970s, but they disappeared one
by one ... the competition is tough," Risnan, who has been a
helicak driver for over three decades, said in a thick Betawi
(native Jakartan) accent.

"Don't ask me how much I can make in a day. It is all a
blessing from God. Let me put it this way, I sent my four
children to school, now they are all married and have jobs. I
also have two houses. The other one is in Bogor," he said.

He also has an "exclusive permit" to operate his helicak,
though he has to remain within a two-kilometer area in the
Menteng residential area. "The last time I arranged the license
was five years ago. They said I don't have to do it anymore."

Things are different for Cipto Udiono, 45, and the other
drivers of three-wheeled bemo in Bendungan Hilir, Central
Jakarta.

Even before the 2003 bylaw on transportation that banned
three-wheeled vehicles from operating in the city, the stiff
competition with public minivans over the last five years had
reduced the drivers' daily earnings.

"There are three drivers for one bemo. We collectively have to
pay the daily rental fee of Rp 40,000 (some US$4.50). I can only
take home about Rp 30,000 each day," Cipto said.

Gasoline-fueled and noisy, the bemo carry six to eight
passengers around a limited area in the capital, including Karet,
Petamburan, Pasar Baru and near the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital
in Central Jakarta, and Jelambar, Grogol and Kota in West
Jakarta.

According to the Jakarta Statistics Agency, there were 1,096
bemo in 1992 in the capital. In one decade, that number had
fallen to 967.

The bemo's younger brother the bajaj will be the first
three-wheeled vehicles to be taken completely off the streets, as
they are no longer considered roadworthy.

"If we are next in line, I demand the administration help us
find new jobs. Please be kind and consider that the residents
also need us," a bemo driver, Kodirin, said.

Nia, a vendor in Tanah Abang market, said she preferred taking
a bemo rather than a taxi because it could carry large loads down
narrow alleys.

"The city administration should give bemo drivers incentives
to repair their vehicles rather than simply doing away with
them," she said.