Solutions for The Matatu

Here’s the thing. There is no country in history that has grown their economy without having a highly efficient transport system.  Kenya will not be the first. For the avoidance of doubt, the matatu  is actually the antithesis of a transport system. It’s unreliable, extremely inefficient, overly susceptible to the weather, energy intensive and quite simply unsustainable. Don’t get me wrong I have nothing against the idea of the matatu being an important urbane cultural symbol that should be preserved and revered, I just think that when it comes to transport, form MUST follow function.

Several years back, Mir Michuki had a crack at sorting this mess out and in my humble opinion he did quite well for himself. Too bad he was clueless and his analysis of the problem was intrinsically flawed. You see, public transport is really just about efficient movement, comfort is a secondary concern. The second reason Michuki’s plan failed to hold was that he assumed the matatu situation was unique to Kenya. It’s not. Every other country that has an economy similar to ours has the same problems. Bogota, Columbia’s most populous city is however the first to actually transform the matatu into one of the most efficient transport systems in the world.

How did they do it?

Step 1: Market Research

So we need to do market research and figure out the specific transportation needs of our country’s various destinations with specific attention to:

·        The number of people we need to ferry daily

·        The destinations (analyzed by popularity)

·        the most efficient routes to use

·        Financial projections including cost and revenue numbers

·        Growth rate of the sector

In Bogota they figured out all this data including how much each vehicle generated for the owner daily. With this they had the ammo to sweet talk the owners.

Step 2: Take control AWAY from private hands

I know this will anger many capitalists out there, but the honest truth is that a transport system is one of those things that works best when you apply a “big picture needs over wants” approach. Private companies simply cannot provide that. Think about it this way, the vehicle owners are not in this as a form of public service, they are in it to make money. For this reason any improvements or changes you propose will be viewed, by them, through the prism of a cost benefit analysis. If the changes you propose result in decreased revenue or increased cost then they will not support it. They have no logical reason to. This is what killed the Michuki system. I suggest we pass a law that makes the provision of transportation exclusively a function of the state or local authority then make it lucrative for vehicle owners to be involved. It worked for Bogota. It can work here.

Step 3: Public Private Partnership (but dictate rules)

This is the genius of the Bogota solution. They took over the provision of transportation but did not say that the government would actually therefore drive the buses. That would be foolish. Armed with the data of daily revenues and potential of the market they offered vehicle owners a chance to operate on behalf of the state. A deal they couldn’t refuse. This achieved two things. It gave the owners an economic reason to support the changes because it offered them similar if not better daily returns than before. Secondly, because the use of the vehicle is now a commercial service to the state, it allowed the state as sole consumer of the service, to dictate the terms.

Step 4: Set the standard

Owners are awarded the tenders to provide transport service subject to strict conditions including:

·        Provision of a certain type of vehicle (shape colour and form)

·        Provision of competent driver and conductor

·        Installation of a GPS

·        Adherence to a timetable and route plan controlled and remotely monitored by GPS

The state then runs a Transit center that has all the data of transport needs fed into it as well as specific GPS codes of each vehicle. The system then generates the routes and these are passed to owners whose responsibility it is to ply the route according to the timetable. The GPS system monitors all this and payment is made on the basis of adherence to rules and timetable. It results in a timetable focused system as opposed to a jaza gari focus. Over time we can make the rules tighter. In Bogota they are now even using environmental data to evaluate vehicles before they are allowed into the system. If a car is emitting too much pollution then it is barred.

Step 5: Re-duce cash in the system

This was another stroke of genius. Fares are paid directly to the Transit center that sets up offices at all destinations and give tokens to passengers. This allows the proper and just control of fares and insures the system from economic shocks (e.g. rain). It also increases the security of the matatu because the driver is no longer carrying wads of cash in his socks. There is therefore no more need for gangs to provide security at stops and along routes. Payment is made monthly to the owner based on his vehicle’s adherence to the GPS monitored timetable and other rules. Just like that, we can achieve a matatu system that runs on a timetable.

Step 6: Provide a Bus Lane

The timetable will NOT be achievable without a dedicated path for the buses to follow. Now this will be very painful just as it was for Bogota . In the KE case I would suggest creation of specific bus only routes that are closed to private vehicles. On major highways they can dedicate one side of the road to the buses. It will make driving private vehicles very painful but it’s a necessary step. Hefty fines for infringements on bus lanes should be levied for offenders. In the long run off course we should build bus lanes along every major road. Baby steps. It worked for Bogota. It will work in Nairobi.

Step 7: Face the Facts

We need to get the sentimentalism out of this thing. No matter how much we improve the matatu and make is sensible it needs a train system to support it. There isn’t a major city anywhere in the world that relies exclusively on road transport. A train system for Nairobi is sine qua non if we want to develop.  

Read this too: http://129.3.20.41/eps/urb/papers/0508/0508005.pdf