[sustran] Becak Attack Action Alert

ITDP mobility at igc.org
Thu Nov 25 08:06:49 JST 1999


TO: Sustran Members,Aseed Members, etc.

From: Walter Hook, ITDP, Michael Replogle, EDF

Re: New Attack on Cycle Rickshaws in Indonesia

We urge you to take action by faxing the below letter to President
Abdurrahman Wahid of Indonesia (fax # 62-21-348-4004) and to Governor
Sutiyoso (62-21-384-8653).

An emergency situation has arisen in Jakarta, Indonesia which could have

lasting environmental and social consequences.  Despite our collective
hopes
that the new government of Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus Dur, would
support
the lifting of Bylaw No. 11/1988 which banned the operation of
non-polluting
cycle rickshaws, or becaks, from Jakarta's streets, he and the Governor
of
Jakarta have called on the City Council to maintain the ban on cycle
rickshaws,
and to begin a crackdown on the over 8000 cycle rickshaws estimated to
be
operating there.  The crackdown is to begin at once, and we need your
help
immediately to avoid this confrontation.

Before the ban was imposed in 1988, there were well over 100,000 becaks
operating in Jakarta, providing jobs for poor people and low cost taxi
services
in low and moderate income areas which generated no pollution.  With the

imposition of the ban, an estimated 40,000 cycle rickshaws were dumped
into the
Jakarta bay, and cycle rickshaws disappeared from Jakarta's streets,
forcing
people to take highly polluting and more expensive motorcycle taxis
(ojeks) or
motorcycle rickshaws (bajaj) instead.  The confiscation of the becaks
from
their owners took away from the poor their most valuable, and often
their only
asset, and drove them into poverty.

With the recent political changes, since July of 1998, the ban was not
being
enforced by Governor Sutiyoso, as he recognized the important role that
these
cycle rickshaws play in both generating employment among the poor and
meeting
basic mobility needs, particularly for women, in low and moderate income

neighborhoods, while generating no greenhouse gases or pollution.   An
estimated 8000 cycle rickshaws have returned to Jakarta's streets with
the
easing of enforcement, but their status remained officially illegal as
the
Regional Parliament at that time refused to lift the ban, Bylaw No.
11/1988.

Led by the Urban Poor Consortium, with support from LPIST, YLKI, LBH,
and other
environmental and social justice organizations, there was hope that the
new
government of Abdurrahman Wahid would support the repeal of Bylaw
11/1988.
Megawati Sukarnoputri, currently the Vice President, had been thought to

support the repeal of the law.

To everyone's surprise, at a rally of 5000 supporters of the cycle
rickshaws,
President Abdurrahman Wahid defended the ban on pedicabs, and together
with
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso called on the City Council not to revoke the
law.
"The ban on becak operating in the city was indeed meant as a measure to

eradicate poverty," he said.  "Jakarta is the capital city.  It is not
supposed
to have becak on its streets anymore."  While the President did call on
authorities to create new jobs for the pedicab drivers, details on the
alternative jobs were vague, and many were encouraged to participate in
the
government's controversial 'transmigration program.'

We urge you to sign and send the following letter.

Hon. President Abdurrahman Wahid,
Governor Sutiyoso

Dear President Abdurrahman Wahid,

The world looks to your new Presidency with tremendous hope for a more
democratic, free, and environmentally friendly Indonesia.

We appreciate your long held concern for Indonesia's poor.  However, we
are
greatly upset by your recent pronouncement calling for the continuation
of the
ban on cycle rickshaws, or becaks.  While you have said that "the ban on
becak
operation in the city was indeed meant as a measure to eradicate
poverty," in
fact it has had the opposite effect, taking away jobs and assets from
thousands
of Jakarta's poor.

Furthermore, women in particular depend on the becak for short trips in
their
neighborhoods, and do not like the cost, noise, pollution, and
inconvenience of
the only alternatives available to them, the 'ojek', which is also
illegal, and
the 'bajaj', which is highly polluting and noisy.   It is the general
consensus
of the international transportation planning community that becaks also
play a
particularly important role as a feeder system to the public
transportation
system.

While you no doubt feel that the cycle rickshaw is 'backward' and
associated
with 'exploitation,'  interviews with cycle rickshaw drivers themselves
indicate that this work is preferable to them to other forms of
employment
available to them. Furthermore, far from being backward, there are now
cycle
rickshaws operating in over 50 major cities around the world, including
New
York City, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Prague, Krakow, Mexico City, and
Manila.
Most cities, including New York, are encouraging their use as a
pollution-mitigation measure.

Given that the UN recently found Jakarta one of the three most polluted
cities
in the world, we feel that forcing passengers to rely on alternative,
generally
highly polluting modes of transportation is ill-advised.  Recently, air
pollution in Jakarta has gotten worse, as the bus fleets are aging due
to lack
of spare parts.  Children in particular roblems of chronic respiratory
illness
and learning disabilities as a result of the toxic air emissions levels.

Given the severe air pollution and continued unemployment, we implore
you to
reverse your decision to begin the draconian enforcement of Bylaw
11/1988, and
instead hope you will urge the Jakarta City Council to repeal Bylaw
11/1988.

Sincerely
(your name).



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