During its heyday some 40 years ago, three-wheeled public transportation vehicles called bemo proudly roamed Jakarta’s streets being a favorite ride among residents.

However, their role has now been consigned to history since the Jakarta administration ordered their removal last year. The city completely banned bemo from operating after a year-long phasing out period as the vehicles were deemed environmentally unfriendly.

Since the ban was imposed, the bemo have virtually disappeared from the capital’s streets.

Nonetheless, a trace of them can still be found at the side of Jl. Pangeran Antasari in Cilandak, South Jakarta, although not used to carry passengers but rather as a small coffee stall.

Complemented by chairs, tables and glass shelving, a bemo is the centerpiece of a humble noodle restaurant called Bakmi Asooy, which operates daily from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

Jamil, 54, who was once a bemo driver in the early 2000’s before becoming a conventional ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver, opened the restaurant earlier this year. The orange-painted bemo previously belonged to his friend.

“I like the idea of transforming discarded stuff into something useful,” he told The Jakarta Post recently.

To help him run the business, Jamil, who also chairs the Indonesian Ojek Association, hired three ojek drivers.

“I aim to empower my friends,” he said, adding that the competitiveness between conventional and online ride-hailing drivers had worsened his colleagues’ financial situation.

Also in South Jakarta, another trace of the bemo can be found in the Karet area in the form of a purple mobile library called Bemo Baca (Bemo Reads) for poor communities, operated by 58-year-old Sutino, known as Kinong to his friends.

Kinong, who had been a bemo driver since 1977, started his mobile library in 2013. “It is a matter of pride for me that people still need me in my old age. I feel like I benefit others. That’s what has long encouraged me,” he said.

Kinong said the old vehicle, which has been modified with shelves to hold books, usually operated during weekdays by moving from one school to another. He often stays around the Karet overpass in Central Jakarta where children enthusiastically gather around the bemo when he arrives in the area.

As an added attraction, Kinong sometimes transforms the three-wheeler into a layar tancap (traditional outdoor cinema) during the weekend with the help of art community Ruang Rupa. The cinema screens various Indonesian movies ranging from children’s movies to movies about the nation’s struggle for independence.

Despite enjoying his activity, Kinong said he still struggled to make ends meet, as he can no longer pick up paying passengers, he only relies on beverages he sells from the Bemo stall.

“If these are regarded as activities that preserve a city icon and promote literacy, maybe I could get more support to preserve them [the mobile library and cinema],” he said. (sau)

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