Environment-friendly traditional transportation

In the modern world, everything should be fast. That is including transportation. Since that, many modern vehicles have been made, and many other which considered traditional have been modernized, so they can move faster and safer. Such efforts, however, make the environment suffer, because many modern transportation modes resulting more pollution.

In many countries in Asia, however, many traditional transportation modes are still being used up till now, especially in the rural areas, and also in some tourist areas.

One of the so called traditional transportation modes is an environmental-friendly and pedal driven vehicle which is known as ‘becak’ in Indonesia. The ‘becak’ is a modernization form of the human pulled rickshaw which was originally found in the ancient Japan.

some “becaks” in malioboro – yogyakarta

As for the name, I found two versions of its origin. A version said that the name was derived from the Hokkien term ‘be chia’ which means horse carriage. The other version said that many Chinese who came to Medan in the end of 18^th century were so poor and did not have anything except the clothes they wore; so in order to get food they had to work hard which many of them chose to be the driver of a kind of vehicle that similar to nowadays ‘becak’. When people asked how come they did such a hard work, they said ‘bo chia’ which means cannot eat or haven’t eaten. The term ‘bo chia’, then became ‘becak’.

In Indonesia, ‘becak’ can be found in many rural areas across the country even-though they are become extinct nowadays. ‘Becak’ usually has three wheels; those are a pair of wheels at the front part which is also where the passengers sit, and one wheel at the back. The ‘becak’ in many parts of Indonesia are similar, and yet they also have their unique form which is differing from one area to the other. ‘Becak’ is suit comfortably for two passengers, but it is depends on the size of the passengers of course 

becak in bandung

waiting for passengers in bandung

becak in bandung

becak in cimahi

becak in madura

becak in lasem

becak in cirebon

becak in lampung

becak in kudus

becak in palembang

becak in medan

becak in semarang

becak in solo

becak in tangerang

becak in tegal

There are also motorized ‘becak’ which can be found in North Sumatera. They called ‘betor’ or ‘becak motor’. The ‘betor’ in Pematang Siantar, North Sumatera, even more unique, because they use old motorcycles to be attached to passenger carriages.

betor in medan

betor in pematang siantar

 

Ringkasan:

Kecepatan menjadi kata kunci di era modern seperti sekarang. Ini berlaku juga untuk urusan transportasi. Untuk urusan kendaraan, sayangnya kecepatan berarti juga semakin tingginya tingkat pokusi karena semakin banyak pula kendaraan bermotor yang dipergunakan.

Meskipun demikian, di beberapa Negara Asia, beberapa jenis kendaraan tradisional masih tetap dipertahankan. Salah satunya adalah sebuah kendaraan ramah lingkungan yang kita kenal dengan nama becak. Menurut sejarahnya, becak merupakan pengembangan bentuk dari kereta penumpang yang ditarik manusia dan dikenal dengan nama rickshaw yang pertama kalinya muncul di Jepang pada jaman Shogun.

becak in beijing, china

Untuk nama, ada dua versi yang menjelaskan asal-usul nama becak. Yang pertama mengatakan bahwa istilah becak berasal dari istilah Hokkien ‘be chia’ yang berarti kereta kuda. Sementara versi lain mengatakan bahwa pada akhir abad ke 18, banyak orang China miskin yang datang ke Medan untuk mencari kehidupan yang lebih baik. Karena mereka tidak memiliki apa-apa kecuali pakaian yang melekat di badan, mereka bekerja mengandalkan otot untuk mendapatkan makanan. Kebanyakan dari mereka memilih untuk menjadi penarik kereta penumpang yang merupakan cikal bakal becak jaman sekarang. Ketika ada orang yang bertanay mengapa mereka mau bekerja seperti itu, hampir semuanya menjawab ‘bo chia’ yang artinya tidak bisa makan. Kata ‘bo chia’ ini lama kelamaan berubah menjadi becak.

Di Indonesia, becak dapat ditemukan di hampir semua kota. Bentuknya boleh dibilang sama, meskipun beberapa bagiannya sedikit berbeda di suatu kota dibandingkan dengan kota lainnya. Semuanya punya tiga roda dengan penumpang berada di depan si pengemudi, kecuali di Medan, dimana pengemudi mengayuh becaknya di samping tempat duduk penumpang. Di Medan dan sekitarnya, dikenal juga adanya becak bermesin yang dikenal dengan nama betor. Bahkan di Pematang Siantar betor-nya unik karena mempergunakan moge sebagai penggerak.

Pada umunya becak cukup nyaman jika ditumpangi dua orang penumpang. Tapi itu tergantung ukuran penumpangnya juga sih 

sleep well and sweet dream 🙂

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