Kitale matatu crews turn bus park into a relay track

Matatu touts and drivers in Kitale town engage in relay race inside the town's bus park amid ongoing nationwide strike over high fuel prices, May 18  /SCREENGRAB

Matatu touts and drivers in Kitale town, Trans Nzoia county, on Monday transformed the usually busy bus park into an improvised athletics track as they sought to pass time during the nationwide matatu strike protesting high fuel prices.

In scenes that contrasted sharply with the transport paralysis witnessed across the country, the crew turned the otherwise solemn atmosphere into a lively spectacle, engaging in mock relay races using sticks in place of batons.

Cheered on by amused pedestrians and small-scale traders operating around the bus park, the participants sprinted around the terminus with enthusiasm as colleagues and onlookers followed closely behind, laughing and shouting encouragement.

What would ordinarily have been a crowded transport hub filled with revving engines, conductors calling passengers and commuters rushing to various destinations instead became an open playground for idle crews waiting out the shutdown.

The spontaneous races injected moments of humour into a day otherwise marked by uncertainty, cancelled travel plans and economic losses for both operators and commuters.

Kitale, a key agricultural and commercial centre in the North Rift region, depends heavily on public transport for the movement of traders, workers, students and farm produce.

But with most matatus remaining parked following the strike called by the Transport Sector Alliance, movement within the town slowed significantly, leaving bus parks deserted and businesses struggling with reduced customer traffic.

Elsewhere in Bomet, matatu operators also turned the shutdown into an opportunity for recreation after converting a bus terminus into a makeshift playground.

In videos shared on X, some operators were seen laughing, running around and playing games in the middle of the bus park as others watched from groups nearby.

The lighter moments among operators emerged even as thousands of commuters across the country grappled with the harsh realities of the transport paralysis triggered by soaring fuel prices.

In Nairobi, many commuters were forced to walk long distances to work after failing to secure transport as matatus stayed off the roads in protest over the latest fuel price hike announced by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority.

At Kangemi, stranded commuters lingered at bus stages and flyovers hoping for transport while others trekked for kilometres to workplaces amid uncertainty over how long the shutdown would last.

On routes where a few vehicles remained operational, fares nearly doubled as operators feared venturing into some areas where striking colleagues viewed non-participants as traitors.

The strike followed the May 14 fuel price review that increased the cost of Super Petrol by Sh16.65 per litre and Diesel by Sh46.29 per litre.

Transport operators say the rising fuel costs have made business unsustainable, warning that continued increases threaten livelihoods across the sector.

Kenya’s matatu industry generates an estimated Sh250 billion to Sh300 billion annually and supports more than two million direct and indirect jobs, making it one of the country’s most critical economic sectors.

Even as some crews found ways to lighten the mood in empty bus parks, the broader shutdown continued to expose the economic strain caused by rising fuel prices and the country’s heavy dependence on public transport.

Matatu Owners Association of Kenya president Albert Karakacha said the sector incurred losses exceeding Sh500 million on Monday alone, but maintained that the strike would persist until the government addresses the soaring fuel prices.