She does it to support family

She does it to support family

By Sri Wahyuni

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Endah Fariana claims any woman can do what
she does for a living -- drive an inter-provincial bus for 600
kilometers every day -- though she concedes that not many would
want to.

An employee of transportation company PO Raharja, she drives a
50 seater air-conditioned bus from Yogyakarta to Purwokerto,
three times a day.

If Endah starts her days work in Yogyakarta, she must spend
the night in Purwokerto upon her second arrival in the city. The
following day, she sets out for Yogyakarta, returns again to
Purwokerto, before finally returning to Yogyakarta for the night.

"There is nothing special about my job. Any other woman can do
it," Endah told The Jakarta Post modestly, but she admitted that
a female inter-provincial bus driver is quite a rare occurrence.

The 38-year-old mother of four plans to retire as soon as her
eldest son completes his studies in engineering at a private
Islamic university in Tangerang, West Java. Her younger children
still go to the senior and junior high schools in the town of
Sumpiuh, where Endah's husband, Subroto, hails from.

Endah and 40-year-old Subroto, also a driver at the same
company, work for 15 to 20 days a month, and spend the rest of
the time with their family in Sumpiuh. "Those days are very
precious because only then can we be close to our children,"
Endah said.

Fortunately, Sumpiuh is on the route that Endah and Subroto
ply daily. Their three school-age children often wait by the road
just to wave to their parents as they pass by.

"We enjoy those moments very much," Endah said, adding that if
the situation permits, she takes the children to Purwokerto for
lunch, some 40 kilometers from Sumpiuh.

"I do it only with the passengers' permission because I drive
an (expensive) bus which doesn't allow the driver to pick up any
passengers along the route," Endah explained, adding that she
enjoys driving an air-conditioned bus because most of her
passengers are "educated and good mannered."

It was not easy becoming the only female among the companies
60 drivers. "I try hard to maintain my dignity as a woman, a wife
and a mother," she said.

"I've found that our survival within the community depends
very much on how we treat people around us. If we show respect to
them, they will do the same to us," said Endah referring to her
colleagues. "They are as rough as many people would think. Yes,
they are high-tempered, but they are basically kind-hearted."

The company conceded that Endah helps attract passengers, but
that is not why she was hired.

"She has proved herself to be as qualified as the male
drivers. We treat them equally here," company supervisor Yoyok
Suwarno said.

Endah agreed. "I refuse to be treated differently just because
I'm a woman. Special treatment will only cause jealousy among us,
and make things difficult for me," Endah said.

Endah is paid on a commission basis, taking 10 percent of the
total daily fares on her bus. During peak seasons, such as school
or Idul Fitri holidays, she can earn up to Rp 1 million (US$100)
a day. During weekdays, however, she collects less than Rp
100,000 a day.

"That is not much, but I can at least help my husband feed our
family," she said, adding that she could not find any other
gainful employment, as driving is her only skill.

Dirt

Endah began her career in 1980 driving a truck carrying soil.
In 1987, she began to drive large buses for the Jakarta-based
transportation company PO Arimbi, plying the Merak to Bandung
route in West Java.

In 1991 she drove a tourist bus in Bali for a tour agency. But
she did not like being separated from her family and so moved to
Yogyakarta in 1992.

Together with her husband, she worked for PO Putra Remaja, a
Yogyakarta-based transportation company where she drove a night
bus plying the Yogyakarta-Lampung and then Yogyakarta-Jakarta
routes.

"Driving a night passenger bus was much too exhausting. I had
to work for days on end and sometimes had to take a rest in the
bus for just an hour of sleep or so," she said.

The couple then decided to move to PO Raharja in order to have
more time with their family.

Born in Jakarta as the eldest of children, Endah now regrets
dropping out of high school.

"Had I completed my education, I wouldn't have had to take up
this kind of job," she said, adding that she would not let any of
her children leave school prematurely.

"I'd like them to have a much better life than that of their
parents'," she said.

Endah realizes that she will not always be strong and fit
enough for her physically demanding job, so is now preparing a
business at home and plans to devote her time entirely to it
after she retires.

Last year she began to keep hens, known locally as Bangkok
chickens, which are raised as pets, not for meat. She now has
about 30 of them, which can sell for up to Rp 400,000 each.

"For the time being, I try to do my job (as a bus driver) as
if it's a hobby. That way I doesn't feel it as a burden," Endah
said.