Like most businesses, competition in the matatu industry is the driving force to faster, flashier matatus on the road; and like in most businesses where strategies of every kind are developed and implemented to beat competition; the matatu industry has experienced what can only be described as ‘turbulent’ change.
It is estimated that the matatu industry in Kenya controls over 80 percent of passengers transportation. The industry is characterized with diverse and sometimes conflicting social,economic and political interests;the end result of this struggle is increased cost of running the business,greater risk of road traffic accidents,poor service delivery and exorbitant fares.
Having come up a few years back and dominated Kenyan roads, transforming the masterminds behind the business to overnight millionaires, more and more people developed an interest in this sector and with this, new ideas on how to gain more leverage with commuters sprung up if only to make one’s vehicle, the people preferred mode of transport.
The changes came in different areas, from a vehicles physical outlook, its body structure and shape to the services offered. The matatu came face to face with its biggest competitor, the double M commuter train bus services. Comprising of a fleet of buses that have proved to be the commuters preferred mode of transport, overshadowing others like the fourteen seater Nissan matatus,buses and the city hoppa’s that are older in the industry.
Unlike it’s counterpart the matatu,with it’s flashy lights,LCD screens, loud music and graffiti, the double M commuter train is rather plain and conservative in that there is no form of entertainment in form of music or movies shown.
It’s most distinguishable aspect which seems to be the secret to attracting commuters, having managed to attract both the young adults and elderly unlike the matatu whose main clientèle are the youth, is the service offered.
Though not as pimped up as the matatu, the double M commuter bus offers comfort to your destination. One does not have to squeeze his legs to fit between the seats since it offers enough space to comfortably accommodate the tallest of persons. Scenes of commuters scrambling to get in as experienced in matatus is unheard of here, be it rush hour when most people get off from work in the evening or morning, commuters waiting on this vehicle are normally seen queuing obediently in an organized manner with a supervisor from the bus’s company always available to monitor and direct the buses to pick the commuters.
The friendly service they offer is not limited to the bus conductor,but the driver as well as supervisor.
With clean uniforms that match their company’s theme color and logo,organized is the only term that can best describe them. From their shoes to their hair,all staff are seen neatly dressed and ready to embrace the day and cases of unkept or disorderly bus drivers or conductors has not been heard of since start of business a few years back.
Since the double m commuter trains inception,commuters can breath a sigh of relief having been saved the hustle and bustle of scrambling for overcrowded matatus and Nissan,or walking long distances to catch a ride to one’s destination as experienced a few years back,which saw many have to wake up early and walk long distances in order to catch a matatu after practically ‘fighting’ and scrambling your way in to it.
You might think that with the shortage of enough matatus to ferry people to their work places would bring out the ‘gentlemen’ in men by seeing them give women and mothers first priority into getting safely in to the matatus considering their feminine nature as experienced a few years back when courtesy and respect was still a much practiced norm in our society,having been taught and in-grained in most homes to treat and respect the elderly and for men to especially treat women with alot of consideration;what came out more was in total contrast of this. Scenes of falling women with some practically losing their handbags and shoes as they try to outdo everyone else in getting in to a matatu became a normal site with the men’s show of concern or sympathy totally non-existent. The term survival for the fittest describes the scenario quite clearly.
With the matatu’s practically ruling the roads,scenes of scrambling commuters only saw the ‘makanga(conductor) and driver of these vehicles take advantage of this situation and hike the fares, practically doubling their rates making themselves and their employers quite ‘happy’ for the day with the profit made despite the already unbearable economic situation experienced and the already long treks made by the commuters which would make the ride to the CBD quite short.! Tired,dusty and already cursing the transport system,the commuters are left with no choice but to pay the amount asked for, if only to get to their workplaces on time……………
TO BE CONTINUED…………”
