Bajaj and Kancil

I usually take an ojek (motorcycle taxi) to work in the morning and again in the evening to get home. It is fast compared to other modes of transport as motorcycle riders are as crazy as everyone else on Jakarta's roads. So, weaving in and out of traffic is the norm here. If you ever need to test your bravery or courage levels, then taking a ride on an ojek would be one way of finding out.

Anyways, this post is not about ojeks but about bajajs (pronounced ba-jay -- first photo) and there planned replacements the kancil (second photo). A bajaj is simply a three-wheeled 2-stroke motorcycle with a covered passenger compartment at the back. These are supposed to be being phased out and replaced with a new gas-powered traffic nightmare known as a kancil.

This replacement plan has sort of been happening but not really happening since 2001. The biggest hindrance to the replacement program is the cost of the new kancils. The new kancil price is set somewhere between IDR 20 and 30 million. A bajaj driver would be able to trade in his bajaj and get IDR 7.5 million for the trade. This would then be used as a down payment on the kancil.

In theory this sounds like a pretty good deal. If you are managing to pull in somewhere between IDR 30,000 and IDR 50,000 per day before expenses then it is going to be some time before you get out of the credit death trap. Nevertheless, most bajajs are not owner-operator deals but rather businesses that own 10, 15, 20, or however many bajajs and hire them out and take a rental fee.

This brings me to the real reason for this post. On my way to work yesterday I really noticed the number of bajajs polluting the city and how bad this is for my health and the sweet-smelling aroma that permeates my clothes. The downside of taking an ojek to work is that it is a dirty business. Jakarta is dusty and polluted place and the bajajs add to this. I arrived at work smelling like I had just mowed the lawn. This is the unfortunate bonus of being caught in traffic behind a bajaj spewing out rancid 2-stroke fumes.

For a government that talks a good talk about cleaning up the city and ridding it of bajajs in an attempt to reduce pollution, some estimates suggest that pollution in Jakarta could be reduced by up to 25% if you got bajajs off the roads, it does not walk a good walk. The government needs to subsidize the program because any outlay that it makes now will be more than made up for in future health costs and care savings that pollution-related respiratory illness and other illnesses would give rise to.

I could continue to rail on my other issues like the non-existent emissions tests that are supposed to get polluting vehicles off the roads. Perhaps that is a post for another day.

Jakarta Smokin' or Smokin' Jakarta?

Those of you that enjoy a nicotine fix need to be a little wary about where you are going to get that next fix during the period from 17 through 27 November 2008. The Government of Jakarta and several Anti-Smoking NGOs have decided that they are going to up the ante on smokers and conduct raids during this period (cartoon).

There is a Regulation, actually a couple of them (No. 2 of 2005 and No. 75 of 2005), that has been issued by the Government of Jakarta that prohibits smoking in certain places and requires businesses and others to provide special smoking rooms to cater for those who cannot go without a nicotine fix.

The places that are most likely to be targeted are office buildings, medical facilities, malls and shopping centers, places of worship, schools, and public transportation, among others. This seems to be an initiative that is being driven more by those concerned with the growing abuse of tobacco rather than any increased interest from the government in terms of implementing the 2005 Regulation.

The cold hard reality is that the government after the initial posting of signs declaring certain areas non-smoking, the government lost interest in enforcement. I remember when the Regulation first came into effect. I was taking a train from Gambir Station to Bandung. As I was waiting for the train to arrive, I remember having a good laugh to myself as I watched a young fella light up and puff away. Why the good laugh? He was standing under one of those no smoking signs, the red circle with a cigarette inside the circle and a red line through it. It was one of those moments, where you go, "nah, this is definitely not going to work."

Even now, each day in the building where I work I watch smokers line the corridors puffing away. There are no designated smoking areas, there are no non-smoking area signs or if there are they are routinely ignored. There is no enforcement from building management or the security personnel roaming the corridors. If I am not mistaken building management can be fined for any failure to enforce the provisions in their buildings.

Let the fun and games begin.

Beijing 2008 -- Pollution

Yesterday was all about amusing myself and I posted lots and lots of fun stuff! However, today it is back to the more serious and perhaps mundane world of opinionated postings on all sorts of equally irrelevant "stuff".

The Australian Track and Field team for the Olympics has been issued an order that prohibits them from marching in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games. The opening ceremony is undoubtedly one of the highlights and is part of the overall culmination of an athlete having achieved their ultimately goal of having been selected, not only to represent their country but also to represent their country at an Olympic Games.

The rationale for the ban is that Beijing is one of the world's most polluted cities and the athletes that march in the opening ceremony will be a risk for respiratory ailments that will adversely effect their performance in competition. This would seem to be a bureaucratic decision by over-zealous officials rather than a decision on the part of the athletes themselves.

However, the potential for some diplomatic fallout, particularly as no other countries have expressed any public concerns of dangers to their athletes from pollution, has seen some back-tracking and the current excuse seems to be that the athletes need a stable training environment. The question though is that the athletes have never needed a stable training environment previously that has resulted in the athletes being prevented from marching in the opening ceremony!

Yet, in fairness to the bureaucrats making the decisions, perhaps after having invested so much money into these athletes then it is only reasonable to protect your investment in order to maximize the returns. The picture is of Australian heptahlete Kylie Wheeler.

I am sure this will blow over.

World Naked Bike Ride -- 2008

World Naked Bike Ride is an event that has been happening for a number of years. However, I do not recall having ever heard of it!

The rides take place in more than 70 countries. It has expanded to include non-pedal power means of transport such as roller skating, inline skating and the like. The ride is to protest "indecent exposure to cars" and in particular the pollution of cars.

The photos are from the Sao Paulo (Brazil) and London (United Kingdom) protests / rides.

This is from Sao Paulo. I have to say there seems to be many more clothed than unclothed people riding bikes. However, it should be added that full nudity in public places in Brazil is apparently illegal! It would seem that the camera person knows which of the riders they want to photograph!

Nah...this is what I call a real kick in the nuts! This is one unhappy copper and it is likely to be one unhappy bike rider who might not be riding a bike for a while if the police officer manages to connect with the big right kick! Take a look at the expression on the copper's face; he's not messing around on this one!

This is a photo from the London event! This fella has a billboard big enough that he could have written a few other slogans for the day. I hazard to guess that he does not get the bike out of the garage all that often!

Saving the best till last! It seems like the route is spectator lined. I wonder why?