Motorcycle Loans Strain Local Budgets

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI

Motorcycle riders do not wear masks while on the West Outer Ring Road, West Jakarta, Monday (7/3/2022).

Ilham, 23, a private employee in Semarang, once had to borrow money from his brother to fulfill his living needs. Ilham's monthly salary is only 1.5 million, far below the city's regional minimum wage of Rp 2.8 million (about US$200). Ilham spends around about Rp 800,000 a month, mostly for the cost of riding a motorcycle to work

The spending is for motorcycle loan installments, fuel and maintenance. Ilham's house is far from a public transportation hub, so he uses a motorcycle to get to work.

He said he hoped a public transportation option would be created to connect his residential area to the Trans-Semarang network. “If I want to use public transportation, I have to walk about 2 kilometers from home. The arrival of the public transportation vehicle is also unpredictable. If you're in a hurry, it's a bit of a hassle," he said.

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Without an extensive feeder network, public transportation remains expensive. As a result, Ilham has been unable to reduce his spending. In fact, the monthly cost of going back and forth using the Trans-Semarang buses for five working days a week is about Rp 200,000.

People will usually use public transportation if it serves their residential area. While he was in school, Dika, 19, rode the Trans-Semarang rapid transit bus every day from the bus stop near his house to school. Per month, his parents spent Rp 100,000 for Dika's transportation costs.

Because the scope of mass public transportation services in Semarang is still limited, Dika has to use a motorbike to work in the Sayung area, Demak. In a month he has to pay a transportation costs of about Rp 800,000, consisting of fuel spending and motorcycle loan installments.

If there was a public bus service that served his residential area, Dika might only spend about Rp 200,000 for transportation to his office.

Uncertainty

In addition to the limited service coverage, many people are still reluctant to use public transportation because of its long travel times. Therefore, many residents chose to ride a motorcycle to work, even though the costs are higher. Panji, 30, a resident of Bandung city, who lives in Panyileukan subdistrict, travels 8 km to his office on Jl.

Merdeka by motorcycle every day. The private bank employee has to go through long traffic jams and heavy traffic every morning and evening.

Riding a motorcycle to work not only tires him out, it also increases his transportation costs because he has to spend a lot of money not only for fuel but also for the maintenance of the motorcycle.

Panji spends at least Rp 400,000 per month to buy fuel. In addition, he also has to spend about Rp 150,000 for motorbike maintenance and another Rp 50,000 for parking every month.

KOMPAS/ADITYA PUTRA PERDANA

The Trans Semarang bus rapid transit (BRT) stops at the Simpang Lima bus stop, Semarang City, Central Java, Sunday (20/1/2019). Starting operations in 2009, the Trans Semarang BRT now has seven corridors to serve Semarang residents. The ticket price is IDR 3,500 for the general public and IDR 1,000 for students and child identity card holders (KIA).

According to him, using public transportation is not efficient, because he has to move from one angkot (public minivan) to another to reach his office. Not to mention, he has to pay at least Rp 5,000 for each angkot. In addition, most public minivans are uncomfortable and crowded, so Panji has to clean himself after the trip.

“If I use a motorbike, I will arrive at the office in 40 minutes. It is expensive, but timelier. If you take an angkot three times, it can take more than an hour. Moreover, public transportation vehicles often have to wait [for passengers] for too long. The travel time is unpredictable,” he said.

If calculated, the cost of using an angkot could be more expensive than a motorbike. However, if it is calculated with a motorcycle credit installment of Rp 998,100 per month, the cost of using a motorcycle is burdensome for Panji, who earns Rp. 3,550,000 per month.

"Fortunately, I have paid all the installments because I don't want it to take a long time [to pay off]. However, if the transportation costs include the motorcycle loan installment, it is more expensive to use a motorcycle," he said.

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For Rafi, 24, a resident of Surabaya, riding a motorcycle to work is still a good option, even though the spending accounts for 32 percent of his monthly income. "I'm tired of taking a public bus. The trips are long, and the waiting time is also very long," said the cleaning service employee on Wednesday (16/3/2022).

Rafi has never tried public transportation before, including the Suroboyo Bus or Trans-Semanggi, the new mass transportation in Surabaya. In 2020, he bought a motorcycle with a loan. Every day he travels 50 kilometers back and forth from his home in Candi, Sidoarjo, to his office in the Gubeng area of Surabaya.

The spending on motorcycle fuel and the cost of public transportation are actually almost the same, namely Rp 20,000 per day or 500,000 a month. However, because he uses a motorbike, Rafi has to pay the monthly motorcycle loan installment of Rp 700,000 and motorbike maintenance of about Rp 150,000 every month.

SATRIO PANGARSO WISANGGENI

The Suroboyo bus corridor R1 (front) and the Trans Semanggi Suroboyo bus route K2 (rear) stop at the Panglima Sudirman Bus Stop, Surabaya on Wednesday (2/3/2022) afternoon. The Suroboyo Bus belongs to the Surabaya City Government, while the Trans Semanggi Suroboyo comes from the BTS scheme of the Ministry of Transportation.n.

Longer waits

The long travel times when using public transportation also made Bayu Yanuar, 39, a resident of Jurang Jero, Giripeni village, Wates district, Kulon Progo regency, turn to a motorcycle to get to work.

Six days a week, Bayu travels about 30 km to his office on Jl. AM Sangaji in Yogyakarta. "If I ride a motorbike, it takes me about an hour to reach my office," said the private employee.

Bayu chose to use a motorcycle because public transportation took twice as long. In addition, he also had difficulty getting public transportation when he returned home at night, because the number of buses that operated on the Wates-Yogyakarta route in the evening was limited.

Every day he has to spend Rp 10,000 to Rp 15,000 to buy motorcycle fuel. In a month, he has to spend between Rp 240,000 and Rp 360,000 for motorcycle fuel.

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In addition, Bayu also has to spend between Rp 200,000 and Rp 300,000 for motorcycle maintenance per month. Previously, he had to pay a monthly loan installment of Rp 600,000 for the motorcycle. However, the installments were paid off a few years ago.

Bayus’ spending for his motorcycle is about 15 to 20 percent of his monthly expenses. In addition, Bayu also has to pay for various other needs, such as household needs, school fees and house installments. Meanwhile, Bayu's income is around Rp 4 million per month, or about twice the regional minimum wage in Yogyakarta.

Actually, according to Bayu, the bus fare from Wates to Gamping is around Rp 4,000 for one way, while the fare for Trans Jogja is Rp 3,500. Therefore, for a day trip back and forth to the office, Bayu has to pay about Rp 15,000 if he uses a public bus – the same as the spending would have been for motorcycle fuel.

However, if he regularly used public transportation, he could save on motorcycle maintenance costs. Bayu would actually switch to using public transportation if the travel times were faster and if the service was available until the evening. (PUT/XNA/SPW/ XTI / HRS / RTG/ETA).

This article was translated by Hendarsyah Tarmizi.