'Delman' drivers complain of lost income

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 04/14/2008 11:52 AM  |  City

SLOW BUSINESS: Delman (traditional buggy) drivers wait for costumers in the parking lot of the National Monument park in Central Jakarta. (JP/Andreas Arditya)

Dozens of delman (traditional buggy) drivers are planning to hold a rally Monday demanding the city administration lift a recent ban on their operation inside National Monument (Monas) park, Central Jakarta.

"We now only operate outside the park. It's harder to get customers -- we are losing almost half of our usual income," said Novi, who has been driving delman for 10 years, on Sunday.

While the ban was passed in June last year by the Central Jakarta municipal administration, delman were still allowed to operate inside the park on weekends.

Recently, the administration decided to further restrict delman, stopping them from entering the park at all.

Now, buggies wait for customers in the parking lot on the southern edge of the park, offering trips around the park on public roads, where they must jostle with traffic.

"We used to make between Rp 500,000 (US$54.5) and Rp 700,000 a day on weekends, but now this has dropped to between Rp 200,000 300,000," said Novi, a native Jakartan.

There are more than 90 drivers operating at the park, most of from the same village in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta, he said.

On weekdays the drivers go to residential areas around the city, offering children afternoon trips around their neighborhood, earning between Rp 30,000 to Rp 50,000 a day. After deducting expenses, they can make up to Rp 500,000 a week.

"It barely meets our needs. We've got families to feed, children to send to school, rent to pay," said Agus, another driver.

Agus does not understand why the administration decided to ban the buggies from the park.

"They (the officials) say it is because we didn't clean up after the horses, which spoils the park. I admit, some of us did this, but they could have given us a warning first, instead of banning us out of the blue," said the 32-year-old man, who inherited his buggy from his father.

The ban is part of the city administration's 10-year-old park beautification project, which has so far included evicting vendors, constructing gardens, breeding live deer and recently running a shuttle bus.

The park covers 80 hectares, surrounded by numerous government buildings, including the president's and ministers' offices, as well as the U.S. Embassy.

While thugs and prostitutes once dwelled there, Monas park has become a popular recreational area with Jakartans, especially on Sundays when visitors bring their families.

"The park is our livelihood. They told us to get other jobs, but what jobs? Most of these drivers didn't even graduate from junior high school. Are they willing to provide us with jobs?" said Agus.

The drivers plan to assemble and rally at City Hall opposite the park.

"We just want them to reconsider this decision. We want a win-win solution," Agus said. (dre)

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