Unique bus-pulling contest for women held at Kalideres Terminal
Women and other participants enlivened a bus-pulling contest to welcome Indonesia’s 81st Independence Day at Kalideres Terminal, West Jakarta, on Sunday.
Head of Kalideres Terminal, Nur Prasetyo, said the contest involved participants who work in the terminal area, including women.
“The participants are from bus company employees, secondly from bus company agents, then from Transport Agency staff, SMEs, and street vendors at the terminal. So the aim is to enliven the terminal and foster togetherness among business operators within the bus terminal,” Tyo told reporters at the location on Sunday.
Ena (48), a bus company staff member who took part in the competition, admitted she had been preparing physically since the morning in order to have extra energy for the bus-pulling contest.
“I had prepared my energy. But the energy suddenly disappeared because the bus was so heavy,” Ena said at the location on Sunday.
This was the second time she had participated in the unique event, having also taken part in 2025.
When asked about the weight of the burden of moving the large vehicle, Ena joked that her life’s burdens were heavier.
“Life’s burdens are heavier than the bus’s burden,” Ena said jokingly.
She explained that one team, consisting of around 15 people, managed to win the match.
“We are not expecting the prize, it is just for the fun of it, just to enliven 17 August,” she said.
She also hoped that at the age of 81 years of independence, Indonesia could be better in the future.
“Hopefully in the future Indonesia will be better than last year,” she said.
Similarly, Nila (47), another female participant, also felt the exciting experience of struggling to pull a double-decker bus.
“It was a really exciting experience. The spirit of ’45 was there when pulling it. The bus was really heavy,” Nila said.
When asked again about the comparison between the weight of the bus and life’s burdens, she gave her view.
“Don’t ask about life’s burdens. Life’s burdens are mental, we just carry on. But this bus, we pull it together. There has to be teamwork,” she added.
At the location, the bus being pulled was a Gunung Harta double-decker fleet estimated to weigh up to 20 tonnes.
Although it required extra energy to move the giant bus, the cheerfulness and jokes melted the competitive atmosphere.
In addition to the bus-pulling contest, the organisers at Kalideres Terminal also prepared various other typical 17 August competitions, such as chess, women’s football, terong dance for women, balloon dance for women, sack racing, tug of war and cracker eating.