Did you give someone a lift? Pay him! Indonesia pays hitchhikers (8 photos)

Usually it's different. A person goes out onto the road, catches a ride and pays a small amount for helping the driver who agreed to give him a lift. But not in the capital of Indonesia! There are hitchhikers on the roads, whom you will also have to pay.





This is because the size, speed of growth, and also the madness of life in Jakarta drives you crazy. It is the sixth largest metropolis in the world, and there are 20 million cars on the roads.



Not everyone survives on the roads of Jakarta

Their number grew ten times faster than they managed to expand the streets and even install traffic lights. For some time there was real madness going on here. However, as now too - but in a more moderate format.

An unusual decision by the authorities

To prevent some areas of the city from being overloaded, especially business areas, the authorities created an interesting rule.

“Three in one” - this means that you can enter certain areas only if at least three people are traveling in your car.

They are not going to let a car with one driver inside - there is not enough space for everyone.





And at the entrance to these areas, as well as at busy intersections, there are such helper hitchhikers. These are poor Indonesians who will become your missing passenger, thereby ensuring access into the area.

How to recognize them on the street

Do you know the sign for hitchhikers? Thumbs up.



This is what an ordinary hitchhiker looks like, who will also pay you if he presses you

To prevent paid stoppers from being confused with those who are willing to pay, they developed their own symbol. This is the index finger raised up.

And there are more expensive stoppers - they show two fingers up. This means that if you are missing two passengers, they can quickly call their wife or child from the shadows. So that there is also the feeling that the driver is simply taking a whole family to the desired area.



The child is bored and works all day with his mother.

There is also competition among them. Those who look cleaner and are dressed more richly are more often picked up by drivers. No one wants to ride in a car with someone who stinks the entire interior of the car with sweat and unwashed clothes.

Bad luck awaits some unkempt villagers on the contrary; no one may stop in front of them in a day. From hunger and hopelessness, they quickly slip into petty thefts.

Just like that - from a stopper to a criminal is one step!



And so they travel from villages to the city to work as hitchhikers, along with their children

Paid hitchhikers were called jockeys, and within a few months of their appearance the government began to crack down on them.

Who bothered the Jakarta jockeys

They are very inexpensive, charging less than a dollar for one trip. All because of the extreme poverty of Indonesia's poor population and the large gap between classes.

Therefore, almost any car owner can hire them. Which makes the introduction of the “Three in One” rule practically useless.



They try not to take more powerful men, they are afraid of robbery

In Europe, for example, this would be more difficult to pull off. There, even the homeless would charge a price that would make it cheaper to walk.

Since there is nothing to take from the jockeys themselves, and no police force is enough to drive them in droves, they decided to fine those who use their services. But here, too, it is very difficult to prove intentional conspiracy.



In the USA there are special lanes for those with a full load

The only way to combat this is to replace the three-in-one rule with toll roads. If you want to go, pay. On the other hand, as long as there are not enough roads and there are no duplicate routes to the area, this will essentially be a paid access to the area for the population, including those living there. And this is not very fair.