Pain at the pump: An Indonesian pedicab driver’s monthly costs | Business and Economy

Name: Rohim, but everyone calls him Wak Gaes (“Wak” is an honorific title in Indonesia which is something akin to grandfather, while Gaes is a riff on the word “guys”)

Age: 49

Occupation: Pedicab driver

Lives with: Wife Juriah (38), son Surpianto (20) and daughter Ratna Anjeli (18)

Rohim has another daughter from his first marriage, Ayu Asari (25) who has two daughters aged four and one. So Rohim is also a grandfather.

Lives in: A three-bedroom rented house in the city of Medan, the provincial capital of North Sumatra, 1,881km (3,027 miles) from Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. The rent costs 900,000 Indonesian rupiah ($58) per month.

Monthly household income: About 2.5 million rupiah ($160) per month, although it fluctuates according to how many passengers Rohim is able to find. According to Salary Explorer, the median income in Indonesia per month is 11 million rupiah ($704).

Total expenses for the month: 2.5 million rupiah ($160)