[sustran] Re: Becak Attack Action Alert

Rajat Rastogi 98404302 rajatr at civil.iitb.ernet.in
Thu Nov 25 15:15:14 JST 1999


 
 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
Rajat Rastogi
Research Scholar
Transportation Systems Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology
Powai, MUMBAI - 400 076, INDIA.

E Mail: rajatr at gemini.civil.iitb.ernet.in

Working Area: Non Motorised Modes promotion and integration for accessing
              transit (Sub Urban Rail) in Mumbai.

__________________________________________________________________________
      WALKING AND BICYCLING MAKES YOU ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY
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