Matatu
Matatu (muh-tah-too): A form of public transportation found in Kenya. The matatu may take two forms: one a standard Nissan safari van without the poptop and additional seating installed; the second a hybrid of the van and a school bus. To alight from a matatu one must alert the money man, who will then cling a coin on the window or ceiling. The driver will then telepathically know the desired destination and pause to let the passenger out.
The matatu is the most common form of public transportation here. The city also has buses and there are a taxis as well, however they are more expensive and the buses are notoriously overcrowded and run limited routes. The larger matatus run intracity routes in Nairboi. Much like the vehicles of the merry pranksters, they are decorated in loud day glo, graffittied and covered in stickers, and usually are covered in flashing christmas lights. Each also has a name such as the Historian, Beckham Sucks, Crasher, etc. They dont actually stop to pick up passengers, though they occassionally slow down so someone running fast enough can hop on. The regular sized matatus run routes into and out of the city and around the country where there is a paved (or wel lpacked dirt) road. Some are white or grey-these will always have a yellow stripe around the vehilce explaining the main destinations on the route. Some are florescent day glo, and like their larger counterparts, adorned with a variety lights, stickers, and names. Some feature advertising for local companies; all have personal pieces of flair (such as rugs stapled to the ceiling, black lights inside, stickers of relgious or other phrases and people). Names on these tend to be a little more adventurous and include the snoop troupe (named dawg pound and shiznit), sports names (luis figo, nesta, and the lucky strike jensen button), religious references (the saviour, lord is king), and the truly smart ass. The matatus feature two characters: my favorite-the money man, and the driver. Prior to February of this year there was little regulation of the matatu industry. Almost every road accident would involve a speeding matatu, and government statistics were published showing that almost 2000 people die each year in a matatu. SOon after this statistic one of the most famous matatus appeared on one of the most dangerous routes in the country. Beyond 2000 apparently took its mission quite seriously and probably caused a fair number of accidents. So regulation was put into place which requires all matatus to have insurance, registration, and a speed governor (80 km is the limit however there are a myriad of ways around this). To deal with overcrowding (they would just pack as many people as could possible fit inside or hanging onto the vehicle-sometimes up to 25 in a 15 passenger van) there must be a seat belt for every passenger (they comply witht his going into Nairobi where there are checkpoints, but it is ignored on shorter routes). Every matatu driver and money man also had to have a criminal background check to help cut down on crime (they were great places to get drugged, mugged, or otherwise violated), and they must wear uniforms to identify themselves. Driver's have black pants and a black vest, money men maroon pants and a maroon vest, though they all personalize these with hats, coats, shirts, and attitude. Loud music was also banned, though as soon as they are outside the city checkpoints the already blown spearkers generally start rocking. Matatus must display their route, though the way this is handled appears to be up to the crew and is often done in rather creative ways. The implementation of the regulations caused a lot of problems as there were a lot of matatus that had to register and only one place to do it. For weeks there were long lines for the registration and as a result many people were stranded or had to wait for hours for a matatu since there were so few on the road. Pehninah's son Lante stays in Nairobi with a family friend so he can go to school. Lante would walk 3 hours each way to and from school each day since he couldnt otherwise get there. The problem has since resolved itself and the drivers are back to chewing miraa (qat) all day so they can stay awake (and become a little twitchy in the process) and the money men are happily hustling passengers. Its grand.
The matatu is the most common form of public transportation here. The city also has buses and there are a taxis as well, however they are more expensive and the buses are notoriously overcrowded and run limited routes. The larger matatus run intracity routes in Nairboi. Much like the vehicles of the merry pranksters, they are decorated in loud day glo, graffittied and covered in stickers, and usually are covered in flashing christmas lights. Each also has a name such as the Historian, Beckham Sucks, Crasher, etc. They dont actually stop to pick up passengers, though they occassionally slow down so someone running fast enough can hop on. The regular sized matatus run routes into and out of the city and around the country where there is a paved (or wel lpacked dirt) road. Some are white or grey-these will always have a yellow stripe around the vehilce explaining the main destinations on the route. Some are florescent day glo, and like their larger counterparts, adorned with a variety lights, stickers, and names. Some feature advertising for local companies; all have personal pieces of flair (such as rugs stapled to the ceiling, black lights inside, stickers of relgious or other phrases and people). Names on these tend to be a little more adventurous and include the snoop troupe (named dawg pound and shiznit), sports names (luis figo, nesta, and the lucky strike jensen button), religious references (the saviour, lord is king), and the truly smart ass. The matatus feature two characters: my favorite-the money man, and the driver. Prior to February of this year there was little regulation of the matatu industry. Almost every road accident would involve a speeding matatu, and government statistics were published showing that almost 2000 people die each year in a matatu. SOon after this statistic one of the most famous matatus appeared on one of the most dangerous routes in the country. Beyond 2000 apparently took its mission quite seriously and probably caused a fair number of accidents. So regulation was put into place which requires all matatus to have insurance, registration, and a speed governor (80 km is the limit however there are a myriad of ways around this). To deal with overcrowding (they would just pack as many people as could possible fit inside or hanging onto the vehicle-sometimes up to 25 in a 15 passenger van) there must be a seat belt for every passenger (they comply witht his going into Nairobi where there are checkpoints, but it is ignored on shorter routes). Every matatu driver and money man also had to have a criminal background check to help cut down on crime (they were great places to get drugged, mugged, or otherwise violated), and they must wear uniforms to identify themselves. Driver's have black pants and a black vest, money men maroon pants and a maroon vest, though they all personalize these with hats, coats, shirts, and attitude. Loud music was also banned, though as soon as they are outside the city checkpoints the already blown spearkers generally start rocking. Matatus must display their route, though the way this is handled appears to be up to the crew and is often done in rather creative ways. The implementation of the regulations caused a lot of problems as there were a lot of matatus that had to register and only one place to do it. For weeks there were long lines for the registration and as a result many people were stranded or had to wait for hours for a matatu since there were so few on the road. Pehninah's son Lante stays in Nairobi with a family friend so he can go to school. Lante would walk 3 hours each way to and from school each day since he couldnt otherwise get there. The problem has since resolved itself and the drivers are back to chewing miraa (qat) all day so they can stay awake (and become a little twitchy in the process) and the money men are happily hustling passengers. Its grand.
posted by -cn at 11:31 PM
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