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or decades, the Jakarta Pedicab Drivers Union (Sebaja) has been fighting for permission to work in certain neighborhoods in North Jakarta and West Jakarta in peace.

After Governor Anies Baswedan gave them the green light to operate in limited areas in January this year, the drivers now face unexpected opposition from Jakartans who look down on them and their pedicabs as relics of the past.

Last month, City Council Speaker Prasetio Edi Marsudi vowed to never approve the revision to a bylaw that prohibits becak (pedicabs) from operating, saying they would “downgrade Jakarta residents”. People in Jakarta should be encouraged to use “good quality” forms of mass public transportation, such as Transjakarta buses, commuter lines and the MRT, Prasetio said. The Jakarta administration has prohibited becak from operating on its main roads since 1970.

But in the back alleys of certain neighborhoods, about 1,600 becak drivers have still been operating for years. When leaving the Pejagalan Jaya traditional market in West Jakarta with bags full of groceries, for example, one can simply call out “becak” and pedicab drivers will come forth.

The Pejagalan Jaya traditional market is home to one of the few official shelters for becak in Jakarta, situated at the market’s entrance on Jl. Pejagalan 2. On Saturday morning, about five becak were seen waiting for passengers in the 15-meter square shelter.

The becak drivers, mostly in their 60s, waiting in the shelter told The Jakarta Post that it was their morning routine to go back and forth from the market to transport passengers. Most of their customers are housewives who use becak to carry groceries. Some are regulars who hire becak to pick up their children from school.

Sebaja chairman Rasdullah said the group had engaged with a team at the University of Indonesia (UI) to discuss the development of becak, which led to the idea to develop a solar-powered becak. “Some [drivers] are not as strong as they used to be to pedal their becak,” he said.

Sebaja, UI and the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) have been working together to realize the idea.

Herlily, a lecturer from UI’s school of architecture who is involved with the project, told the Post that modifying the becak was part of a greater plan. Her team has been working to collect data on becak and becak drivers, improve routes and develop a more ergonomic vehicle.

“We will still keep the classic vintage form of becak. Its mechanical operation will be modified,” she said.

Gugun Muhammad of the UPC said the innovative becak would be powered by solar panels attached to the roof.

“[The solar-powered becak] aims to show the City Council that pedicabs can be better for society,” he said.

Addressing concerns that the new model would take to bigger roads and drive fast, he emphasized that the solar panels would only serve to help older drivers, not increase the speed of the vehicle.

Becak drivers, who were in the hundreds of thousands in Jakarta during their heyday, have been accused of causing traffic jams.

Herlily, however, said solar power was only one option; the modification could be as simple as attaching a dynamo, like those on electric bicycles.

Rasdullah joked that he had already thought of a name for the vehicle: becak online cepat dan irit (fast and economical app-based becak), or be’ol cepirit for short, which can loosely be translated as excreting.

The name went viral after his joke was picked up by several online media platforms last week. Gugun has since clarified that there were no plans to call the new becak that. But he did express hope that the modified becak would fit the modern image of the capital.

“The becak could operate within tourist areas such as Ancol Dreamland Park [North Jakarta] and Monas [the National Monument], where passengers can order becak through an app,” he said. Rasdullah said he envisioned modern-looking pedicabs in Jakarta to silence critics and win over the City Council.

He said Sebaja was trying to push for legal certainty, which could only be achieved by revising Jakarta Regulation No. 8/2007 on public order.

The city administration submitted a draft revision to the City Council on Sept. 13. As of today, there has been no progress in the deliberation.

In an attempt to combat the stigma attached to the becak and its drivers, Rasdullah said Sebaja was trying to improve how they worked.

Sebaja has as registered members 1,685 drivers across 16 subdistricts. It obliged them to attach to their becak a joint-agreement letter signed by the union and the Jakarta Transportation Agency and wear a green vest as part of their uniform.

“Some people still need becak, especially in disadvantaged places and lower-middle income residents. Becak drivers [...] are always there when needed,” he said.(sau)