There was a recent report that categorized Kenyans as among the unhappy lot. One of the contributing factors to this report is loss of trust to the public transport system.
The public transport system in Kenya is one of the most disorganized and mismanaged service industries. Former transport Minister John Michuki once intervened and restored sanity in the public transport department.
Michuki was hailed for limiting the number of passengers in a vehicle, introducing speed governors for Public Service Vehicles (PSVs), and requiring every driver and conductor to have uniform among other measures.
Michuki also ordered all public service vehicles to install seat belts and have a yellow line. Passengers were supposed to fasten their safety belts while on transit. The no nonsense minister who served in former president Mwai Kibaki’s cabinet cracked down on thousands of vehicles that were not roadworthy.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i and his transport counterpart James Macharia embarked on reinforcing Michuki rules, but in vain. Simon Kimutai, chairman of the Matatu Owners Association advised Matiang’i to pursue his corrupt officers.
Kimutai accused the traffic cops as being the biggest impediment to the order on roads.
Insanity had pervaded one of the largest service industries in Kenya, as cases of accidents surged. The Michuki rules expired with his death. The ugly ghost of over speeding is back. Kenya recorded the highest number of road accident fatalities in 2019. Most cases were attributed to speed.
According to World health Organization (WHO), between 3,000 and 13,000 Kenyans lose their lives in road traffic accident every year. Most of these accidents are attributed to negligence and carelessness.
The thirst for money during peak times normally make PSV drivers to overwork, which in the long run result to fatigue. Their exhaustion sometimes leads to incidents of accident.
Most PSVs have reverted to their old tradition of ferrying passengers beyond their prescribed limit. Conductors continue terrorizing travelers, with a majority lacking proper communication manners.
Machakos Country Bus stage at Nairobi remains the notorious place, where passengers are harassed, intimidated and assaulted by ‘manambas’. It is only in Kenya, where passengers seeking public transport will have their luggage snatched by ‘manambas’ on a mission to load a certain vehicle.
Business Daily reported that the famous Machakos Country Bus station had earmarked by Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) for conversion into an underground car park. The multi-storeyed parking bay will be digitally operated with motorists charged on an hourly basis.
On numerous occasions, Kenyans have complained about exorbitant fares during seasons such as school opening, Christmas and New Year holiday. The three aforementioned events attract abnormal profit to public transport providers to the disadvantage of the passenger.
Corruption has pervaded the transport sector as rogue drivers bribe their way to perpetuate violations of traffic rules. PSV drivers and their ‘manambas’ have a crafty way of delivering bribe without the knowledge of those around.
In the wake of Covid-19, public transport remained the weakest link and topped the list of super spreaders of the virus. Public transport systems in Kenya have always been crammed. For example a vehicle designated to carry 14 people will have close to 30 passengers and there is always room for more.
Public transport vehicles are not reliable for those seeking to travel fast. This is because most of them drop and pick passengers along the way. The vehicle has to be full to move to the next stage.
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