NAIROBI CITY

Nairobi is a city with a population of over 3million people during the day. Such a huge population demands a huge amount of resources and services. But given limited resources and poor planning, such a large population puts pressure on the city, writes Linda Mange’ni.
One of the sectors most affected by the population pressure is the transport industry. Although Kenya could be one of the countries with the most vibrant transport sectors in the region, the service still falls short of the demands of a rapidly growing population, especially in urban areas.
Exacerbating the problems in the transport industry is the poor state of the country’s infrastructure. In Nairobi, city roads have remained for many years, in a deplorable condition. This state of the road network has made doing business expensive since investors incur high costs of maintenance.
Indeed, potholes, badly re-carpeted highways, poor drainage systems, un-serviced traffic lights and poorly demarcated roads have led to accidents, loss of lives and car damages. During the rainy season, poor drainage makes Nairobi roads a nightmare for motorists, a number of them suffering various mechanical problems as a result.
And to add pain to injury, the recklessness of the drivers who flout traffic rules, tamper with speed governors and overload the passenger service vehicles (PSVs), add costs to the entire economy. Moreover, the escalating insecurity in the country, with rampant highjacking of PSV vehicles, known here as matatu, makes investing in the transport industry such a risky undertaking.
The industry is also famous for lack of self-control, leading to chaotic scenes, with thugs taking advantage of the mess to extort bribes and imposing pseudo fees on the industry.
In an interview with Business Week last week, the chairman of Kenya’s Transport Licensing Board (TLB), Mr. H.A.M Ole Kamwaro, said that the local authorities have the responsibility of putting order in the industry by providing security and collecting revenue from the bus parks and matatu terminals.
This however remains lacking with local authorities unable to enforce any control. Most bus parks and matatu terminals remain in a state of confusion because the city council law-enforcement personnel are unavailable to provide law and order.
As a result, armed groups of hoodlums, that government has banned, have many times taken advantage of the confusion to impose fees on matatu owners. In Nairobi, areas such as Dandora and Githurai, have experienced deaths in common clashes between these groupings. Most notable groups are Mungiki and Kamjeshi, all declared by government as unlawful groups.
On some routes such as the Jogoo Road route, passengers pay double the fares during the rainy season because of the demand and supply market situation. Kamwaro mentioned that the markets control the fares depending on the fuel costs and the demand and supply
Last year Kenya’s transport industry experienced great changes for the better, when the then minister of transport, Mr. John Michuki, put down his foot in order to enforce adherence to set traffic rules including the use of seat belts and speed governors as well as officially recognised number of passengers in each matatu. Drivers and conductors were to wear uniforms and identification tags while commuter taxis were to have a yellow strip for easy identification.
This move put the Kenyan transport industry into some resemblance of order. However, the enthusiasm that this exercise started with is slowly running out-of-steam. Although passengers were expected to wear seat belts then, this is one of the rules adversely flouted now.
Equally, conductors and drivers now hardly wear uniform or identification tags while the enforcement of speed governors has virtually died out or where vehicles are fitted with them, drivers normally tamper with the governors to allow speeding. Experts say Kenya still has a huge shortage of commuter buses and taxis to satisfy the rising demand for transport. It is a common scene, each morning and evening, to see long queues of passengers waiting for buses and matatu. Moreover, the traffic jam menace makes the situation worse since buses and matatu caught in the jam, take longer hours before making a return trip.
Analysts say it is crucial that government seeks investors whose interest in the industry is not just putting buses or matatu on the road, but investors with a long-term plan that will address the systemic transport problems not just in Nairobi but in the entire country. It is also crucial that government addresses the issue of infrastructure decay and a demanding tax regime, if investors are to be attracted to the industry
Recently, the Minister for Transport, Mr. Ali Chirau Makwere, proposed the introduction of higher capacity matatu to replace the current 14 and 24-seater ones. But the proposal has met with a lot of opposition from the owners of matatu.
Kenya has an estimated number of 40,000 matatu, a majority of them 14 and 24-seater. Concern raised by the matatu owners is what pace government would opt in replacing the matatu, whether there would be compensation since most of these matatu are gotten through loans; and in general what would government do with that large number of matatus.
Although the proposal has not been gazetted yet, government says it is one of the anticipated solutions to address transport needs of a growing population especially in the capital, Nairobi.
This will at the same time reduce on the number of commuter taxis plying city routes and causing huge traffic jams. To encourage investment in the higher vehicle capacity there should be attractive incentives that will attract investors.
Mr. Dickson Mbugua the chairman of the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) views the move from 14-seater to higher capacity matatu as an investment that will benefit the matatu investors reasonably. A high turnover, low wear and tear and low motoring costs will be some of the benefits that are expected from the new initiative.
Mbugwa sees government considering offering compensation for the 14-seater owners in order to boost the financial strength of investors to enable them move to higher capacity matatu.
He also proposes a soft credit facility such as low interest rates and longer payment periods. The government could also lower import duty to reduce the cost of buying new vehicles as part of attracting more investors.
The cost of acquiring a brand new matatu from General Motors (one of Kenya’s leading car dealers) ranges between Ksh.2.5 million (US$34,700) and Ksh.2.7 million ($37,500) for a 29-seater, Ksh3 million ($41650) for a 33-seater and Ksh4.2 million ($58,300) for a 51-seater bus.
On the other hand, a 14-seater 7-year old second-hand matatu costs only Ksh1.3 million ($18,000).
James, 40, a matatu driver in Nairobi’s Jogoo Road route, says that the introduction of the high capacity matatu will improve the transport service in the in the city. “It has a big capacity compared to the 14––seaters, so it will definitely transport more people.” To engage in the matatu business one needs approximately Ksh31,000 for vehicle inspection license, road license, insurance and PSV license.
It is essential to note that it will take a long period of time to phase out the low capacity vehicles. The transport players speculate that 5-7 years characterised with proper planning, improved infrastructure, government credibility, and proper financing is the time needed for the exercise.
The government needs to come up with an elaborate plan and financial scheme for a smooth transition.
Brazil moved from a low (14-seater commuter taxis) to higher capacity (62-seater commuter taxis) in 15 years, beginning in 1983 to 2000. South Africa too started transforming its commuter taxi service, from 14-seaters to 35-seater ones, in 2001.