Jakarta, Jan 30 (Antara) - After decades of being banned from operating in the capital city of Jakarta, pedicabs, locally called 'becak,' a popular transportation means in the past, is coming back to serve Jakarta residents in labyrinthine areas.
Pedicabs had been banned from operating in Jakarta since April 1990 based on Jakarta Regional Government Regulation N0.11/1988. However, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan will revive the operation of the tricycle becak.
The regional government of Jakarta is of the view that Jakarta residents still need pedicabs and hence, it would legalize the trishaw operation in residential areas or certain routes.
Yet, legislator Ahmad Sahroni of the NasDem Party faction in the House stated that the plan to legalize the operation of becak needs further studies. "The issue is that it will not only cause traffic jams on the streets but also result in the narrowing down of roads due to pedicabs being parked on roadsides," Sahroni noted in Jakarta on Monday last week (Jan 22).
Moreover, he added that it would be very difficult to monitor the use of pedicabs that are specially operated in residential areas. He called on Baswedan to avoid merely following the political contract that he had made during his gubernatorial campaign and to conduct a long study before thinking of legalizing pedicabs in the capital city.
Baswedan previously acknowledged that his plan to legalize pedicab operation in Jakarta cannot be separated from the political contract that he had made at the Red Square Communications Forum in October 2016.
Sahroni stated that the policy issued by the governor should be applicable throughout the region as it would have implications on the progress of the capital city.
The legislator argued that Baswedan, as the governor, should think about how to carry out other developments in the capital city and overcome various other problems, such as congestion and flooding. He should not just issue a policy that only defends a group of people due to a political contract.
"It should not be carried out only because of a political contract. A policy should be holistic not only for North Jakarta but also for other regions in Jakarta," he revealed.
Another debate with regard to the policy is the criteria of routes, which Baswedan explained as the routes where pedicabs will be permitted to operate. Baswedan also needed to make clear the criteria of roads where rickshaws are not allowed to operate
"What is the definition of a village road?" Can it be assured that a pedicab would not pass on a highway if the access to the destination should pass on the highway?," he questioned.
Another factor that is not less crucial is whether the legalizing of pedicab operation would create a social problem. Such a concern is quiet possible considering the intensity of competition in the transportation business. Take as an example the app-based taxi services, which have seen a lot of conflicts and even caused the loss of lives, he revealed.
In the meantime, legislator Ahmad Hanafi Rais has supported Baswedan¿s plan to allow rickshaws to operate again in the streets. But he suggested that the pedicab that will be operated should be an electric becak, because it would be suitable for the climate of the capital city that must be environmentally friendly.
Rais, who is a politician of the National Mandate Party (PAN), explained that the presence of rickshaws in the capital city does not need to be a polemic as long as it does not disturb the order and is beneficial to the consumer. What needs to be prepared are clear regulations. Moreover, according to Rais, the plan to allow pedicab operation will be applied especially in designated residential areas.
Pedicabs that would be operated must be the ones already existing. There should be additional new rickshaws in order to prevent more urbanization to the capital city, he pointed out.
In order to prevent the entry of pedicabs from outside Jakarta, the Jakarta regional government plans to affix special stickers on pedicabs allowed to operate in residential areas in the capital city.
"We plan that pedicabs that will play in Jakarta's residential areas will be obligated to carry special stickers as identification signs," Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan noted at the City Hall, Jakarta, Monday.
According to Baswedan, the special sticker will serve as an identification sign to demarcate pedicabs allowed to operate legally in the capital city. "In addition to functioning as special markers, stickers also help to maintain a count of the total number of pedicabs that still operate in Jakarta," Baswedan noted.
Currently, Baswedan said his side is still taking stock of the pedicabs, so that the Jakarta government can keep a track of the total number of such vehicles still operating. "Now, we are still involved in the data collection process. We record the names of people interested in operating pedicabs and will then put stickers on their vehicles," Baswedan explained.
If data collection is completed, then pedicabs from outside the area of Jakarta will not be allowed to operate in the capital city. "The trishaw drivers in Jakarta actually do not want new pedicabs from outside to enter Jakarta. Hence, we will place special stickers on Jakarta's pedicabs," Baswedan stated.
Regarding reports that there have been parties trying to send pedicabs to Jakarta, Vice Governor Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno stated that his office will coordinate with the police.
The mobilization of pedicabs from other region to Jakarta by certain people believed to belong to politically motivated groups.
The vice governor said he did not want to create prejudice against individuals with bad intention in the Jakarta Provincial Government by trying to allow the entry of the pedicabs mobilized into the Jakarta city.
"We do not want to have the prejudice, though it was reported to me that it (the pedicabs) came with a truck. A far as I know, Indramayu trishaw drivers, if they want to come here, would pedal their own pedicabs," Uno stated in Kepulauan Seribu Islands on Monday.
In addition, the mobilization of the pedicabs was done using a covered truck. "We do need to speculate too much but wait. The police have also been in coordination with us, and they will help dispel (any attempt to mobilize pedicabs into Jakarta)," Uno noted.
It was previously reported that a container with pedicabs was delivered on a truck. The Jakarta Transportation Service drove away the truck. Allegedly, the container, containing rickshaws which were expelled from Bandengan, Tambora in West Jakarta, had come from outside Jakarta.***1***(A014/INE/S012)EDITED BY INE(T.A014/A/BESSR/Suharto) 30-01-2018 21:54: |
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