Alan K. Meier

Intermediate Transport in South East Asian Cities

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Transport in Jakarta - Outside the Kampong

Jakarta, like many of its sister cities in Southeast Asia, is in the midst of an awesome upheaval in transportation, and the last five years have witnessed the introduction of an entirely new set of transport modes. Before the 1970's, there were five ways for people, excluding the elite, to move around the city. These were: the becak, the bicycle, the bemo, the opelet and an expanding bus system.

The opelet is the oldest vehicle, appearing in the early 1940's. It is the jitney of Indonesia, a nine-passenger station-wagon-like vehicle, usually built up with wood from an Austin chasiss. Exactly how the Austin was chosen is unknown, and strangely, the name "opelet" comes from the few vehicles built-up from Opels. There is room for one passenger in the front seat and for another eight on the two parallel benches behind the driver. The passengers board and disembark through the back door, and pay their fare to the young conductor, who is hanging on to the back. The fare is $0.06 regardless of distance. A Westerner might find the benches uncomfortable due to the lack of headroom, but many Indonesians actually prefer the opelet to the newer competitors based on Hondatrucks, because they have wider seats ant more leg room. They do object, though, to the exhaust which so often leaks into the passenger compartment. With so many old opelets operating it is no surprise that they have a bad reputation for accidents.

The opelets travel on pre-established routes. The boy conductor continually yells the opelet's destination while trying to persuade pedestrians to ride in his vehicle. The routes are often ten to fifteen kilometres long originating in the suburbs and terminating near a major city centre. One major route, for example, operates on a north-south artery connecting Kota, the old city and major financial centre with the residential areas to the south. She opelet does not easily convert to a cargo vehicle but many people use it to go to more distant markets carrying large baskets of goods. In general, the opelets appear to be decrepit and grimlooking vehicle:

For reasons not entirely clear, the government does not like the opelets and there are rumours they will soon be banned. At present only two moves have been officially made in that direction. One of these is to ban opelets on certain routes, the other is the establishment of a microbus system on one of the major opelet routes. A new, Indonesian made, eleven passenger vehicle is expected to be in production soon, and this may conceivably become the government-approved replacement for the opelet.

Most of the opelet routes compete directly with bus routes. Passengers often prefer the opelets because they are almost always assured a seat and are usually slightly faster than the buses. In addition, the frequency of service is better; many routes have over 2,000 opelets. The opelet and bus fares are identical, so purely service characteristics determine the choice of mode. Clearly, if the opelets are banned, and no substitute is provided, there will be a lot of dis-satisfied bus riders. Exactly how many people ride opelets is not known.

Bemos were introduced to Jakarta in 1961. (The name originated from becak-motor) A bemo is a three-wheeled, seven passenger vehicle. Six passengers sit behind the driver on two opposing benches. An extra passenger sits up with the driver. The bemo is basically the same as the vehicle known as the "samlor" in Bangkok, although the seating configuration is different.

The bemos are concentrated in the central city area. They follow a route that often includes penetration of the kampongs through the wider alleys. Officially, the fares are fixed by the government and depend on the number of zones the passenger crosses. In reality, inflation and the difficulty of enforcement have made a mockery of the fixed fare system. Still, on every bemo is stencilled a crude map of central Jakarta showing the zones and fares. The drivers consider holiday service overtime and charge accordingly, i.e. double time. Earlier this year the minimum bemo fare was $0.12. During a national holiday it went up to $0.24 and, after the holiday, it went down to $0.18. It never did return to the original rate. The fare for a particular journey is usually settled by negotiation between the driver and the intending passenger.

The late sixties also saw the introduction and proliferation of motorcycles and scooters in Jakarta, and many different models are now being used. In 1974 there were 213,000 motorcycles and scooters. The number is increasing by about 2% a year (Ref.2). The number of motorcycle accidents has grown more than proportionately. The figures for 1974 are not yet released but I have reliable information that as many as six persons are killed in motorcycle accidents each day. Helmets are only rarely worn. Very few women are seen driving motorcycles although they are frequent passengers. To accommodate their dresses and skirts, they are forced to ride side-saddle.

Bicycles are not licensed in Jakarta so no accurate estimate of their use exists. Bicycling is not confined to the young; older people use them both for movement and transport of goods. Wicker baskets are often secured to the back to carry grass, garbage, or wood. I have also seen wooden and metal frames attached to the bicycle to carry special goods. Bicycles are manufactured in Indonesia, but most are imported from Japan and China. The Chinese bicycles ($90) were more expensive than the Japanese ($78) and appeared to be heavier-duty models. For example, the Japanese brakes were cable operated while the Chinese bikes used rods. The trade-off here is weight for durability, and if the bike is to be used for cargo transport then the most durable type will be chosen. For personal transport, however, speed is more important so the lighter bike will be chosen.

Bicycle repair is done in the streets on a wooden stand by itinerant repairmen. The repairman has a few tools and spare parts, and is capable of performing all light repairs including wheel truing and tyre patching. Becaks can slso be repaired at these facilities and it is not uncommon to see several up-ended becaks clustered around a repair stall.

In the early seventies an entirely new group of vehicles appeared in Jakarta. These were the motorized replacements for the becaks. The origins of these vehicles can be traced back as far as 1960, when the government attempted to reduce the number of becaks in Jakarta from, according to one source, 60,000 to 15,000. These numbers are certainly wrong. They are probably the number of issued licenses which understates the true number by a factor of three, i.e. 180,000 to 45,000. The plan also included becak-free zones and roads, operating area restrictions, and fixed fares. The exact fate of this plan is unknown but, evidently, implementation ceased very shortly after it had begun (Ref. 4). The fiasco made it clear, though, that before becaks were banned an adequate replacement must be provided. At least one vehicle, the helicak, had its roots in this realization. The introduction of the bemo in 1961 may have also been a step in this direction.

The first of the new vehicles, the helicak, appeared in 1971. The name helicak is meant to symbolize the connection of the two great civilizations; "heli" originates from the Greek word for fire, "helios", and "cak" comes from the Sanskrit word for wheel, "tjakra". If you ask the man on the street, he will tell you the name helicak comes from helicopter and becak. The helicak is a three wheeled vehicle with a helicopter-like passenger compartment straddling the two front wheels. The driver sits behind this compartment astride what is basically a Lambretta motor scooter minus the front wheels. The front wheels are steered but, unlike the becaks, the passenger compartment does not move. The passenger compartment is completely enclosed in a metal frame with tinted windows.

Many people feel the helicak is a dangerous vehicle to ride in. After all, the passengers will be the first to impact upon collision while the driver can jump off. The statistics give an entirely different story. In the three years helicaks have been operating there have been no fatalities and few serious injuries.

Jakarta is pioneering come fascinating work in traffic gegregation. Most of the major arteries (and all of the new ones) have a system of traffic segregation. On each side of the road, separated by a small curb or median, is a stopping and slower vehicle lane. This stopping lane is just wide enough for a helicak to pass a bus. A11 vehicles which will be stopping in that block enter the stopping lane at the previous intersection. Many of the smaller vehicles such as the helicak, becak, bemo, and bicycle are required to use the stoppinf lanes. The inside lanes are preserved for through traffic which, as a result, moves fairly rapidly. During the peak hours the situation reverses as the through traffic lanes clog up while the stopping lane remains relatively clear, allowing the buses to pass fairly quickly.

The critical point in any traffic segregation scheme is the inter- section; the different types of traffic must somehow merge make the suitable change in cource, then separate themselves again. The problem is exacerbated in Jakarta because of the diversity in speed and acceleration of the vehicles. Jakarta has minimised the problem in two ways. First the major intersections are spaced far apart, this being due, to come extent, to the kampong form of settlement. Second, the traffic islands at the intersections slow the traffic to such a speed that the vehicles in the stopping lane can merge safely. The slover vehicles can enter the traffic island, execute their turn and re-enter the stopping lane without an excessively long wait.