Tracking shot, Bajajs in street, Music 20.08.10
Michael Maher pulls up in Bajaj an speaks to camera, tracking shot of street
Maher:
This is the humble Bajaj. It's unsafe, it's noisy, it's uncomfortable, and certainly a blight on the environment. But it is still the most affordable way for many Jakartans to get around and that's why the orange and black rust buckets are such a fixture on the city's streets.
Busy city streets, traffic jams, Bajaj through small streets
Locals like to say Jakarta has a population of 12 million by day and 9 million by night. 20.56.06
As the cost of real estate rises, more and more people are being forced to live outside the city and commute. But you can still find small neighbourhoods nestled in among the skyscrapers of the CBD and it's here that the Bajaj reigns supreme.
Many of these streets are too small for cars and can only be used by motorcycles or three wheelers.
Bajaj in yard, woman speaking, walking to Bajaj
Ibu Tastifa has been in the Bajaj business for decades. She runs her fleet out of this grease stained depot in Central Jakarta which doubles as a boarding house for her drivers.
21.30.07
Interview with Ibu, group of men and Ibu making/drinking medicine,
interview with driver
Bajaj owner: Bajajs can take passengers right to their doorstep and drive through narrow streets. That's why housewives coming from the market with their heavy shopping take Bajaj rather than other forms of transport. 21.58.08
Maher: Early each morning Ibu Tastifa's drivers gather to drink Jammu or traditional medicine - to steel themselves against Jakarta's choking smog and the long day ahead.
Pak Maman and Pak Karnaen have spent the best part of twenty years behind the handle bars of a Bajaj - since the Indian designed and built vehicles were introduced here.
Bajaj driver: I don't mind driving Bajajs because I don't have any other skills to earn a living from. If I had other skills I might do something else.
Driver working on engine
Maher: The genius of the Bajaj lies in its simplicity - powered by a two stroke engine, it runs on the smell of an oily rag, requires a minimum of maintenance and if spare parts aren't available, string and the odd piece of wood or plastic can work wonders. 22.45.00
Bajaj's driving Music 23.02.15
drivers gathered together speaking
Maher: But the Sword of Damocles is now hanging over the battered chassis of these Bajajs. The city administration says they've outlived their usefulness and it's time for them to go.
At the roadside cafes where Jakarta's Bajaj drivers stop to smoke their beloved clove cigarettes and to drink tea, the mood is defiant.
Pak Suparwoto: There are 15,000 Bajajs in this city, each Bajaj is driven by two drivers. That means there are 30,000 Bajaj drivers. On average, one driver has to support 4 people. Four times 30,000 is 120,000. That's how many people are being supported by Bajaj drivers.
Interview with man, Bajaj driving along, Maher walking with Man: If the bajaj is abolished there'll be a riot. There'll be thousans of people out on the streets.
23.47.12
Maher: In neighbouring Thailand, electric three wheelers are beginning to appear on the streets, but so far the authorities in Indonesia have yet to come up with an alternative to the Bajaj.
Urban Planner Budi Lim is working on projects to redevelop Jakarta agrees that the Bajajs time has come.
Interview with Budi Lim Budi Lim: Bajaj are very dangerous. I mean, we have all experience like my wife, she used to travel with Bajaj, several times she collide with a bus, fortunately she was okay and several times, the water coming inside, and very annoying. 24.26.02
Bajaj driving around
Maher: In the meantime the asphyxiating exhaust fumes and high pitched revs of the Bajaj remain very much a part of everyday Jakarta life. 24.34.06
Music
Maher: Love them or hate them, these genuine Asian icons still lend a distinctive character to the Indonesian capital - a city which is headlong down the path of development is in danger of throwing out many of the things that set it apart.
Negus: Michael Maher and the Bajajs of Jakarta. To have them or not to have them, one of those universal dilemmas. That's it for this week, see you again next week. 25.18.01
Michael Maher pulls up in Bajaj an speaks to camera, tracking shot of street
Maher:
This is the humble Bajaj. It's unsafe, it's noisy, it's uncomfortable, and certainly a blight on the environment. But it is still the most affordable way for many Jakartans to get around and that's why the orange and black rust buckets are such a fixture on the city's streets.
Busy city streets, traffic jams, Bajaj through small streets
Locals like to say Jakarta has a population of 12 million by day and 9 million by night. 20.56.06
As the cost of real estate rises, more and more people are being forced to live outside the city and commute. But you can still find small neighbourhoods nestled in among the skyscrapers of the CBD and it's here that the Bajaj reigns supreme.
Many of these streets are too small for cars and can only be used by motorcycles or three wheelers.
Bajaj in yard, woman speaking, walking to Bajaj
Ibu Tastifa has been in the Bajaj business for decades. She runs her fleet out of this grease stained depot in Central Jakarta which doubles as a boarding house for her drivers.
21.30.07
Interview with Ibu, group of men and Ibu making/drinking medicine,
interview with driver
Bajaj owner: Bajajs can take passengers right to their doorstep and drive through narrow streets. That's why housewives coming from the market with their heavy shopping take Bajaj rather than other forms of transport. 21.58.08
Maher: Early each morning Ibu Tastifa's drivers gather to drink Jammu or traditional medicine - to steel themselves against Jakarta's choking smog and the long day ahead.
Pak Maman and Pak Karnaen have spent the best part of twenty years behind the handle bars of a Bajaj - since the Indian designed and built vehicles were introduced here.
Bajaj driver: I don't mind driving Bajajs because I don't have any other skills to earn a living from. If I had other skills I might do something else.
Driver working on engine
Maher: The genius of the Bajaj lies in its simplicity - powered by a two stroke engine, it runs on the smell of an oily rag, requires a minimum of maintenance and if spare parts aren't available, string and the odd piece of wood or plastic can work wonders. 22.45.00
Bajaj's driving Music 23.02.15
drivers gathered together speaking
Maher: But the Sword of Damocles is now hanging over the battered chassis of these Bajajs. The city administration says they've outlived their usefulness and it's time for them to go.
At the roadside cafes where Jakarta's Bajaj drivers stop to smoke their beloved clove cigarettes and to drink tea, the mood is defiant.
Pak Suparwoto: There are 15,000 Bajajs in this city, each Bajaj is driven by two drivers. That means there are 30,000 Bajaj drivers. On average, one driver has to support 4 people. Four times 30,000 is 120,000. That's how many people are being supported by Bajaj drivers.
Interview with man, Bajaj driving along, Maher walking with Man: If the bajaj is abolished there'll be a riot. There'll be thousans of people out on the streets.
23.47.12
Maher: In neighbouring Thailand, electric three wheelers are beginning to appear on the streets, but so far the authorities in Indonesia have yet to come up with an alternative to the Bajaj.
Urban Planner Budi Lim is working on projects to redevelop Jakarta agrees that the Bajajs time has come.
Interview with Budi Lim Budi Lim: Bajaj are very dangerous. I mean, we have all experience like my wife, she used to travel with Bajaj, several times she collide with a bus, fortunately she was okay and several times, the water coming inside, and very annoying. 24.26.02
Bajaj driving around
Maher: In the meantime the asphyxiating exhaust fumes and high pitched revs of the Bajaj remain very much a part of everyday Jakarta life. 24.34.06
Music
Maher: Love them or hate them, these genuine Asian icons still lend a distinctive character to the Indonesian capital - a city which is headlong down the path of development is in danger of throwing out many of the things that set it apart.
Negus: Michael Maher and the Bajajs of Jakarta. To have them or not to have them, one of those universal dilemmas. That's it for this week, see you again next week. 25.18.01