The Matatu Driver.

{For a special friend}

if you are seeking self knowledge and self mastery, you must deal with things as they really are not as you might want them to be, you must comfort and embrace your shadows,you must even befriend them and love them, you must see who and what they really are within you, you must fulfill their needs just as you fulfill the needs of others, you must assuage their fears and anxieties,reassure and comfort them, in so doing you will be ministering to yourself for they are you,the total you.
Does this include those of us who work in the matatu industry?

.I have been on this job for the past ten years, i am one of those you just love to hate, i work in the industry that is currently the backbone of raising illegal tax money for illegal organized groups.
I as the matatu driver, has been useful and used but so badly abused but still i am pushing through, because i just know that this tusk has to be carried out,Perhaps you don’t have any idea what its like to be the black sheep of the country like we the matatu crews have been made to look and feel.
Let me explain, we[matatu drivers] take our jobs seriously,we know the risks and the benefits of this job, we wake up before three every morning to bring milk to Nairobi,from there we take officers [cops] who have been on night duties home, from there we bring newspaper vendors to work then kiosk operators and company drivers, from there we come for your kids and their teachers and drop them to school, by the time you get to the office, your secretary is behind her desk, and the tea girl is doing her nine o’clock round, you can also hear sounds of men at work coming from the warehouse. After we are done with you, we go back to your house,we take your housewife/houseboy to their secret lovers.
by ten o’clock, the patients have started filling bus stops needing to be taken to hospitals, then comes Sunday and the entire Christian community depends on us, i don’t know the reason why those who live in the west go to churches in the East and those in the East to the west but all the same most of them are not yet blessed with personal cars so we help them go to meet their maker,the pastors ought to pray for us seeing we are partakers in their missionary work but its them who call a curse on us for missing the Sunday service, we are only lucky that God is not restricted by religion otherwise we could be the most cursed human beings in the face of the earth.
This are the same words i used to explain to a Al Jazeera journalist who did the documentary THE RELUCTANT OUTLAW.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbCtgQip0qk A 25 minute video that was aired for 5 days on Al jazeera network. it shows the real life behind a matatu driver.
For now, we are just average Kenyans working hard to see vision 2030 come to reality. we know its not easy to be 100% committed to the truth but we are trying, while holding on to the words of wisdom left by Jesus in the book of MATT. 5.44, love your enemies, bless them that curse you,do good to them that hates you,and pray for them that despite fully use you and persecute you.

 

The solution to the matatu menace.

The matatu industry can not be described better without the word menace; if you were to look up the word, it means, threat; danger; hazard peril; nuisance; pain in the neck; trouble maker; pest; annoyance; it makes people feel, threatened, intimidated, terrorized and in real need of help. It can not be explained better than in the words of one blog reader who happened to come across one of my posts. This was in reply to http://wambururu.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/matatu-drivers-road-safety-campaign-2/

(“The developed world still have road accidents, don’t look far (Adverts don’t stop accidents and its not legendary to use even 1 Kenyan shilling to tell wananchi what they already know, it is hilarious”)

“-Let me begin by saying Media road safety campaigns, the traffic police, the drivers, conductors, body manufactures, HIGH CAPACITY BUSES and setting up departments cant decrease psv accidents or turn around the Kenyan Psv industry for the better without my hand on it, Never!! the local manufactures in collaboration with CMC and GMea haven’t done much to change the Psv image and safety.. How is the Psv industry looking now? here is a few numbers…

(1) Look at the Psvs and School buses involved in road accidents, most of them are locally manufactured HIGH CAPACITY BUSES, matatus and the small Nissans, this idea of high capacity buses woun’t bring any difference please belive me on that… and you don’t normally see this fully built imported Mercedes, TATA, Hyundai, Volvo buses or mini buses with dirty staff, driven recklessly or involved in accidents, because they look well manufactured.. looking at this same old HIGH CAPACITY BUSES around the city all you see is confusion, what you see is random coloring, black smoke, rust, dirt, shouting, broken lights, dirty interior…. etc probably thats why the government kept some off the CBD, but look at the two well known HIGH CAPACITY bus companies operating in the CBD all you see is rust, noise, pealed off paint and stone age design… look at the HIGH CAPACITY githurai buses, the others at machakos bus station, and the other buses in Muthurwa do they seem smart, professional or safe? do they look beautiful? how are they manufactured, very wrong, most Isuzu and Nizzan drivers and conductors also report to work dirty other smelling alcohal, this dirty drivers and conductors are a reflection of their working environment, if a bus is badly designed, passengers refusing to pay, the police hitting with rungus then you have the right to report to work dirty. if the government gave directives on dark window tints, loud music and multi coloring then also goverment should come in to remove all the New but rusty Isuzus and Nissan passenger and public buses in town or in the country, they are ruining the image of Nairobi and Kenya, There is only one respectable bus operator/maker that reflects where Nairobi is and going, but i cant mention names,

(2) Come in to town, check out locally manufactured HIGH CAPACITY buses, this buses are new some of them registration, KBF, KBJ, KBK, KBM, KBN, KBU……etc this buses are supposed to look new but they are old filled with dents, scratches, cracks, paint scratched off, even the passengers write on the seats sometimes they tear them, some passengers even refuse to pay 10 shilling fare probably because its not worth it.

(3) we don’t see traffic cops smashing windows of old saloon cars and of motorcycles, some taxis are mostly second hand vehicles mostly cost less than 200,000 shillings, Nissan and Isuzu matatu costs waaay more.. but do people write on or tear taxi seats? can a taxi driver push you out of a moving vehicle? matatus cost over a million or more shillings, why would a policeman not hesitate to smash a matatu windows off with a rungu and probably be soft to cheaper personal vehicles and motorcycles, police dont only hit the windows, they also hit the body and the lights causing huge damages,

(4) Even the owners at home care
less about this locally made Isuzus and Nissan buses, i mean most of the matatus in the morning are dirty, muddy tyres, dirty/dusty interior, floor and seats,

(5) Look at how the Isuzu drivers handle this vehicles, they drive them recklessly up the pavement, going off road in to estates with rocky, potholes, ditches, complicated paths, sometimes drivers put this vehicles on dangerous spots Eg parking half the bus on stage the other rear half on the road putting the rear passengers at risk. even you and i cant be focused on the wheel with all this headache… what is happening in the matatu industry is just too much, from the arrogant public, the government directives, the police, and to the conductors pushing out passengers from a moving vehicle just because of 10 shilling fare? then something is very wrong in the Psv, i mean you board this millions of shillings worth HIGH CAPACITY bus but you refuse to pay only 10 or 20 shillings because you probably see it as a worthless local made Isuzu or Nissan aluminum. You may ignore this happenings but this little things lead to careless driving and accidents.. Vision 2030 is around the corner will we have beautiful buildings, roads and then the same old Isuzu and Nissan matatus on our faces, I have a solution to all this.

onyango.cyprian@yahoo.com Twitter: cyprian_designi

I would love to hear your opinion on the solution..

 

Change the Man To change the Game

The fourteen seater; matatu maybe on its way out and we will soon see more small and big buses on the roads; That is evident today with the way investors are buying 33 seaters. We welcome this new change that is surely more attractive and comfortable than the Nissan matatus.
But it is not yet time for Kenyans to relax and expect too much change. I would like to tell them to hope for the best but leave a room for the worst; just in-case….
They should by now have learned from what happened after the change of guard that took place in our political arena ten years ago; to be precise.

I remember how people had so much confidence in the new Government and were up in arms to fight corruption among other evils the Moi regime was accused of.Kenyans refused to pay bribe and even went as far as apprehending traffic cops who were demanding bribe from matatu drivers.

It was therefore a rude shock to witness what happened five years later,private companies were contracted and given monopoly to import gadgets; the new by-laws required for all matatus.Workers were then required to deposit advance tax with the Kenya revenue authority to be issued with badges. Anybody found without the card was immediately arrested and taken to court.It was Uhuru Kenyatta who came to our rescue when he took over as the minister for finance and abolished advance tax for would be matatu workers.

Today, Everyone is excited about the Nissan matatus paving the way and taking all their bad habits with them. I know majority are wishing that we evaporate into the thin air sooner so that we can leave them in peace; but i have news for you. We are only changing the costume,but we are retaining the priesthood. The smaller matatus are not to blame for overlapping, overtaking-{ even when they see an approaching vehicle}- or for driving on the side walks; It is the drivers who do this things. Kenyan motorists should now expect to meet a seventy one seater bus overtaking on a blind corner.
What I’m trying to say is that; we need more than just bigger buses. The transport industry must reform its members if the change is to bear fruits.The tricky part will be in choosing who will drive the fewer buses and what will happen to the rest of us.Many people who earn their daily bread in the matatu industry will have to seek for alternative means of getting the bread while those who will get the fewer jobs will continue abstracting other motorists, overtaking, overlapping.

I’m not of the opinion that we call for national prayers for our driver to drive safely;I would prefer we re-train them. Changing the size of the vehicle is just like-washing the pig as written on the bible- we all know what will happen when the cleaned pig is set free.

The only measure that will bring sanity on our roads is when we decide to reach out and educate our drivers on traffic rules and regulations. Until then…….!

 

Matatu drivers road safety campaign.

PROJECT: HIGHWAY CODE.

THE MATATU INDUSTRY: Drivers safety campaign

DISTRIBUTION OF THE HIGHWAY CODE BOOKLET TO ALL MATATU DRIVERS IN NAIROBI

Dear sir/madam,

I am a matatu driver in Nairobi Kenya and also a writer on matatu affairs; I have a blog: wambururu,wordpress.com

After ten years on the road, I feel there is an urgent need to assist matatu drivers in increasing knowledge of the Highway Code and traffic rules and regulations in general. This will be very helpful especially to those who got their licenses through the back door, as is the case with majority.

I am seeking assistance to start a program that will reach out to majority of PSV drivers in Kenya and offer them training on road safety.

OVERVIEW

The “matatu” industry is the core mode of transport for majority of commuters in Nairobi and its environs and perhaps the country at large. Majority of Kenyans depend on matatu’s to get them to their destinations owing to the poor conditions of roads and other factors like the cost of buying and maintaining a car. The number of the PSV vehicles on our roads keeps on raising every year to meet this demand..

Most of the road accidents on our roads are caused by -or involve matatus and/or other PSV vehicles as they are mostly on the roads. Some of this accident can be attributed to matatu drivers for their reckless driving, lack of knowledge of road signs and the Highway Code, over speeding etc,

Safety being the main concern, it is therefore important to tackle one issue at a time, and thus the need for a long term solution when it comes to public service vehicles’ drivers.

Retraining these drivers can indeed be a big step in ensuring that everybody is safe. This program can be achieved and thus the idea of distributing the Highway Code booklet to the drivers.

There are over 30,000 matatus that serve Nairobi and its environs. To ensure that every driver gets a copy; 30,000 copies of the Highway Code booklets will be required This is due to a possible fact that every vehicle represent more than one driver.

PROJECT PLAN

The main purpose is to re-train all drivers about the Highway Code, road signs and road safety at large.

The plan is to distribute the existing Highway Code booklet on issue by the government or alternatively a new High Code booklet design can be printed with up to date Highway codes, road signs and maps of the major roads commonly used by matatus and other PSV vehicles.

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution of the booklets will be done on the 10 main bus parks within Nairobi. These are suitable areas because all drivers plying different routes can easily be accessed and handed the booklet individually. Distribution of all the copies can be done within two weeks, thus one bus parks per day.

Current bus parks in Nairobi;

Railways bus park ;Machakos bus park ;Koja bus park; Tea Room bus park; Bus Station bus park; River Road bus park; Ngara/Globe Cinema bus park; OTC bus park; Kenyatta Hospital stage;Westland’s main stage.

The promoters of this project assume there will be willingness by all stakeholders to support this exercise

For more information contact:  James M Kariuki

Telephone 0724384676.

E-mail. wambururu@gmail.com

 

Matatu industry to benefit from the new consititution.

History has a way of repeating itself. We are in the very same situation we were 9yrs ago. Back then, it was president kibaki who became the 3rd head of state,this time round it is Mr. Kenyatta who is most likely to become the 4th president of republic of Kenya. All of our political attention is focused on the outcome of the petition filed at the supreme court by Honourable Raila Ondinga and the Coalition for Reforms and democracy{CORD} challenging the Jubilee Alliance’s win in the presidential elections conducted early this month. We are all eagerly waiting to hear the verdict, although we somehow know what the outcome will be.
So far, the last week has been quite an entertaining TV drama; watching the learned friends out-do each other with their polished English and tailored suits. What they are doing is just playing a psychological mind game with our political sense; And the good or bad thing about is that; it is working. I guess this is what leadership is all about. Just explain to us convincingly that we have every reason to believe that our government is in good hands and you can leave everything else to us.
What I was saying about being in the same situation we were 9yrs ago has to do with the public transport. Our industry (matatu) has had to come through a very rough trend to finally reach where we are and thanks to millions of our faithful customers who have stuck with us. Our hearts goes out to those of our clients who lost their lives and hundreds who lost their jobs as a result of the transition that took place during the last transition of power from the second president to the third and the introduction of the michuki rules. That was 9yrs ago.

For those who don’t know what era it was that made one cabinet ministers called michuki, the most talked about politician; then this is how it all started. Soon after the NARC government came to power in 2003 after 24yrs of single party rule. Those who took power were determined to transform this country; I don’t know whether it was for better or for worse;
One of the areas they gave more attention according to what they had promised, was in the transport sector; they had sworn to end corruption, road carnage and other misgivings in the public transport sector. But what came out of the much touted change was a whole new wave of high level corruption and gross human rights violation.
A traffic cop could flag down a 51 seater bus, check the tyres: they are okay. Check insurance sticker it’s valid. Check the driver’s license and its okay, he is in uniform; but unfortunately, he forgot to hang his portrait on the windscreen. Now that is a very bad crime:, all the passengers had to seek other means of transport to wherever they were going because the driver has been arrested and the bus has to be towed to the nearest police station. He would then be locked up at the police station until the following day when he will have his day in court.

Now these is where the trick was {and still is}; according to the laws that we operate under, once the judge has been told what you did,i.e- you are brought before the court and your charges read. The magistrate only gives you two options; you are either remanded in custody, or given a cash bond that sometimes goes up to 20,000kshs or more; depending on what the cop writes on the charge slip.It does not matter whether what you were charged with is true or not; To get your freedom again you have to pay the bond or go to remand prison.
Majority of those who can’t afford the amount, have to spend the fourteen days at Nairobi industry-area remand prison before they get another date with the judge. When they return to court after those two weeks, the cop who arrested the accused fails to show up and you get another 14 days. Eventually, the cop will not show up at all and the judge will release you after some months.
The next time the same cop flags your matatu down you better give him what he wants or the same fate befalls you again.

Now with the signing to law of the new constitution and hopefully a new government that is said to be a listening government, we the workers in the matatu industry stands to gain a lot, and perhaps turn these most hated career into a respected public service profession. There was not much said if any in the political party’s manifestos = in regard to matatu industry. we don’t know what the new regime has in store for us. They talked about trains and modern roads but not anything touching on the matatu’s public transport which either way, they will have to work with before the tracks are marked and railway lines laid.
Our hopes are raised high up, by the new constitution; one chapter in the new set of laws chapter 4. if fully implemented will completely cripple the cops from harassing us. we will soon see the end of corporal punishment and illegal detention of matatu workers.
Article 25: states that ,freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment will not be limited to any person despite any other provision in the constitution.
Article 27 (b) further promises to give full effect to the realization of the rights guaranteed under these article. The state shall take measures including affirmative action designed to redress any disadvantage suffered by individual or groups because of past discrimination. I wonder how this will be implemented but all the same; we hope they will find a way.

Our appeal to the new government is to protect us from those who abuse states power to harass and extort money from us. We are tired of being held at ransom by corrupt police office who threaten to through us in prison if we don’t pay our protection fee. We sincerely hope the new president will consider the bills brought before him and see if they will be beneficial to the common mwanainchi or whether they will open loopholes for criminals to abuse those powers. we hope and pray there will be no discrimination this time round and no group of people will be victimized. up to you UHUROTO.
“If intelligence and reason must prevail, is it not more reasonable and intelligent to remain open and listening for the voice of God or for any other voice; than to shut up the eyes and ears and not even allow that there might be voices to hear?”

 

Dear Mr, President; remember the kenyans in the matatu industry.

If all goes well, like most of us are praying for, we will soon have a new government in office, our hopes as matatu workers are very high this time round. During the campaign season before the general elections,one of the presidential contender and his running mate called a meeting with some representatives of matatu industry.It was an open discussion and the leaders very keenly, listened to the issues we raised concerning our vocation and mostly/our cries about the problems we face in our jobs. They promised to look for solutions once they come to power. Today; the was aspirant; is the president elect.
We hope the court petition challenging their election will not take us back to the ballot, but all the same we are ready. If the supreme court rules in their favor, then we expect the new leaders to keep their word.we have heard so many promises being given to electorates during campaign times but this time round we have faith that they will reach out to this service providers and help them instead of condemning them like all the other Kenyans do, whenever there is an accident.
We are still very worried about the traffic amendment bill 2012 that was designed and meant to punish matatu drivers with hefty fines and long jail term. we are afraid that it doesn’t turn out like it happened in Israel, long ago after David’s reign; when one of his son’s became king and decided to consult his younger generation for advice instead of the old wise elders who had been close to his father. when people were expecting ease and comfortable life,He increased their burdens and brought more sufferings.
I really hope Uhuru kenyatta will reach out to matatu operators and help them make a career out of their jobs through the ministry concerned. It is high time that a lasting solution was found that will improve the services we render to our customers,bring sanity in our roads and at the same time help create permanent jobs for thousands of matatu workers country wide.
I fellow matatu driver asked me the other day; why I carry a back-pack like a teenager and yet I’m a grown man with children who should be showing off with bags and labels. I happen to own this one very precious bag that I carry my laptop with whenever I need to connect to the internet at the local cyber café. I don’t yet have access to the WI-FI technology. Anyway, I told my friend that I write about matatu matters and asked him to go search Wambururu.wordpress.com on Google to see more of my works.
I’ve been writing and posting for almost three years now, hoping somebody with authority will one day borrow something useful from the blog and perhaps consider our point of view when dealing with issues touching on our career in the matatu industry/- I wanted to say; our casual jobs.
He did the search and found more than what I knew was available. He later called to ask me whether I had any hand in a report by Society for international development titled ‘Informal’ transport sector workers in the Great Horn of East Africa. I hadn’t; but I felt real joy after reading it. I’m glad that somebody else is trying to explain to them {our leaders} what I’ve been trying to tell them all this years.

One thing about the report really touched me though;- According to the report while analyzing this blog, the writer ends on this note;- I quote; There are two known ways drivers in the Matatu industry cope with the stresses and challenges they experience every single day, )- taking drugs and/or drinking alcohol. Drugs and alcohol consumption serves as an outlet for these drivers who feel trapped with no real way out.
In most cases, the drivers and crew members are under the influence when they are operating their respective vehicles.
The sad news is that, this is true. The report also goes on to say that, Nonetheless, a third outlet that seems to be prominent among driver is religion. Religion is a resilience tool used by matatu and dala dala drivers to get through their very dangerous and unpredictable lives. Everything about their jobs is inconsistent and sporadic, however religion is a constant.
Instead of relying on religion and or drugs and alcohol to get us through each day; why not the people we claim;to have been appointed by God to lead us; do what God would want them do in the helm of His appointment. Its about time the government worked for the people–especially those who have been discriminated for ages.

 

Questions about matatu investment.

!. Am a business man from Eastern Kenya;These matatus here are named Shuttle – and each makes a to and fro and makes around 4800/=per day. I prefer these shuttles more than the 14 seater, coz the 14 seater is full of stress by the police and conductors. These shuttles are well co-ordinated and you car is run on a minimum cost (e.g services, No corruption with the police, so your car loses no money in the route) and again you can run it with a fixed amount of delivery).
==That’s a lot of money, I can’t promise you that amount here in Nairobi especially town services. Here we operate with between 3.500 and 4k net. We make about 12.000 minus fuel and other expenses like salaries. You have every reason to think about investing in the shuttles; I agree with you on cutting cost with proper management, what Is basically what we as Rongai welfare are working on laying the foundations. Corruption by traffic officers is the biggest obstacle to matatu investment.
3. The shuttles here don’t have conductors coz there are stationed.
==That is another plus, passengers pay a fixed amount and mostly at stations; In our case, we need the conductor, town service jobs can’t be possible without their services.

Your quiz’s are:
1. I am caught up between buying a second hand (no so old) and buying a new one through a loan. (according to some matatus owners here; is that u cant pay the loan above that is almost 2.2 million, coz of the challenges involved nowadays.
==If you are talking about a Toyota hiace 14 seater / 11 seater shuttle, the idea of buying a new one is out of question, why; because the government stopped the licensing of 14 seaters. You can not register a new vehicle nowadays unless you buy a fleet of several vehicles as a sacco. If you can get a Toyota in good condition say from KBC—to –KBL—you can buy the vehicle from 750k to 900k.
==Buying a new matatu will mean a 29—33 seater minibus. The total cost to own a minibus is 4.5m. Kenya Commercial Bank has a facility with General Motors- you get a form from the vehicle dealer and the bank finances the transaction on your behalf. i.e. they pay General motors and you pay back the loan according to the banks terms and conditions.
2. According to the politics in Kenya today , Do i wait the outcome or i should go ahead.
==Elections are the only obstacle that is hindering investment , but I have a lot of confidence with Kenyans that nothing out of normal will arise. It is advisable to do the research now, identify the vehicle of you choice, talk to your bank and see what they have to offer and by the mid-march we will have a clear direction as to where we are heading.
3. If i have to buy a second hand (what do and donts should i look for)
==The first thing you should not do is buy a vehicle that has been involved in a fatal accident; It’s not a myth but this vehicle don’t end up well. If possible buy a vehicle that was a shuttle not a uptown matatu. Vehicle are like young girls, the more they are exposed the more they can’t make a good wife. Shuttles spend more hours parked while waiting for passengers and this makes them the best choice when you want a car you will use for some years and still be able to get a good price when you want to change investment.
4. I.ve never done my business with a loan from any bank ) so having a loan is a challenge ,but i can face if well guided. i believe every business should run itself , so i don’t want to use my money from other sides to pay a matatu, it should cater for itself.
==To afford a matatu, you must have really worked hard to get where you are. What a loan does is get you hooked to your investment. Once you have put a certain percentage of your money in to buying something and then someone adds his money to your idea, it is scaring to imagine that you stand to loose even what you have contributed to the financer if you fail to honor the agreement. To somebody like you who know how to generate and grow monies it will largely depended on your cabability to manage the income. According to what you had mentioned above, this shuttles make 4—-4800 ksh.
5. Are new matatus registered these days.(TLB)
==Yes and no; any matatu carrying more than 25 passengers is being registered- but no new 14 seaters.
6. At how much a 5L,3L,and 7L matatu are costing these days and if you take it through loan at how much extra cost would it go for.
==A used Toyota 5L is in the market from 700k to 1.2m depending on trhe condition of the vehicle and year of registration. You can get a good 3L for about 500k and 600 most; many of this are KA—something. I don’t know how much 7L is going for but I wouldn’t recommend you to buy one as the spares have not flooded the market. It is still an expensive car to maintain.