• There are over 60,000 matatus and buses operating countrywide, each raking in an average Sh15, 000 when operating optimally.
• With half of the capacity they are allowed to carry, Kimutai said public vehicles will barely survive if they continue running a business with 50 or less per cent worth of profit.
Image: FILE
More people are likely to lose their jobs in the matatu industry if the government will not allow PSV operators to fill passengers to normal capacity.
This was according to Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai, who also said that they have lost close to 60 per cent worth in revenue.
“As time goes by, we fear even more losses. From March to June, a matatu could even stay for one week without moving because, during that period, only a few people were leaving their houses,” he said.
With half of the capacity they are allowed to carry, he said public vehicles will barely survive if they continue running a business with 50 or less per cent worth of profit.
There are over 60,000 matatus and buses operating countrywide, each raking in an average Sh15, 000 when operating optimally.
On July 15, transport CS James Macharia adjusted passenger capacity for PSVs countrywide as a way of preventing the spread of Covid-19.
All passengers were supposed to be sanitised before boarding, matatus are washed daily to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Seats were to be disinfected in the morning and night, an order most PSVs seemed to have defied.
A 14 seater capacity was allowed to carry 10 passengers as opposed to eight including driver and crew.
While 51 seater will be allowed a sitting capacity of 30 including the driver and crew, in the case of boda-bodas, only one pillion passenger shall be carried.
The 33-seaters allowed a sitting capacity of 18 including the driver and crew.
However, most matatu owners defied the government’s directive to limit the number of passengers.
A spot check by the Star was able to reveal that some matatus in Nairobi were going beyond filling passengers to capacity.
Drivers around Nairobi said that the move was unfair as they compared it to political rallies who gathered in large numbers thus encouraging them to fill in.
Samuel Gitau, a driver plying from Rongai to Nairobi told the Star reaching their daily targets from both the owner and himself has become quite hard.
“The owner of this vehicle expects Sh10,000 from us every day. Whereas at my end, I have to reach a target of Sh3,000-4,000 and have some remain for fuel,” he said,
“During rush hours, I sometimes take advantage of the heavy traffic snarl-up and hike fare from Sh100 to Sh150.”
In regards to Covid-19, he said the passengers have allowed themselves to fill matatus to capacity. Adding that touts have also contributed to the cause.
“When a passenger board in a matatu and realises that there are no extra seats, they will take themselves and seat next to a passenger or will be advised by a tout to seat next to one,” Gitau added.
Some PSVs went ahead and rearranged matatus into three rows, totalling 21 passengers.
Kimutai said that the enforcement of Covid-19 protocols is for all and each must take up personal responsibility.
He said that matatu operators’ work is to ensure that those using the service are sanitized and reminded to put their masks correctly.