Global InformationMatatu information
In Kenya, matatu or matatus (known as mathree in Sheng)[citation needed] are privately owned minibuses used as share taxis.[1] Often decorated, many matatu feature portraits of famous people or slogans and sayings.[2] Likewise, the music they play is also aimed at quickly attracting riders.[3] Over 70% of commuter trips are taken using matatu in cities like Nairobi.[4]
Although their origins can be traced back to the 1960s, matatu saw growth in Kenya in the 1980s and 1990s, The matatu culture sprung up under the influence of widespread hip-hop music and culture by black Americans in the 1980s. By the early 2000s, the archetypal form was a (gaily decorated) Japanese microvan.[5] C. 2015, larger, bus-sized vehicles also started to be used as matatu. The name may also be used in parts of Nigeria.[6] In Kenya, this industry is regulated,[7] and such minibuses must, by law, be fitted with seatbelts[8] and speed governors.[9][8] Present regulation may not be sufficient deterrent to prevent small infractions[10] as even decoration may be prohibited.[9] Kenya has one of the "most extensive regulatory controls to market entry",[11] and a matatu worker can be pulled from the streets simply for sporting too loud a shirt.[12]
They may ply set routes,[13] display this route,[10] run from termini,[8][14] run both inter and intra-city,[13][15] and may stop along said route to purchase or collect money from passengers.[16] In addition to a driver, matatu may be staffed by a conductor,[17] locally known as a makanga or manamba or donda. As of 1999, they were the only form of public transport available in Nairobi, Kenya, although in 2006 and 2008 this was no longer the case. Over the years, stiff competition[18] is being experienced from bus-sharing applications such as SWVL.[19]
- ^ For Kenya and neighbouring nations, see Kenya's Taxi Vans Are Packed and Perilous nytimes.com, 24 April 1988
- For private ownership, see In Nairobi, Kenya puts brakes on its runaway success csmonitor.com, 28 June 1999
- For matatu as minibuses, see Kenya (page 383) Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 416 pages. 1740597435, 9781740597432.
- For past use of pick-up trucks, see Have You Ever Taken A Matatu? Archived 25 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine glpinc.org. and "Field notes: a matatu, a bike and a walk" Schatz, Enid. Contexts Vol. 2, No. 3 (SUMMER 2003), pp. 58-59
- For past use of estate cars, see Muyia, Nafukho. "The Forgonen Workers" (PDF). Social Science Research Report Series, no. 18. Organization for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa. p. 7. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- ^ For portraits, see Nairobi Today: the Paradox of a Fragmented City; Hidden $ Centz: Rolling the Wheels of Nairobi Matatu. Mbugua wa-Mungai. (page 376) edited by Helene Charton-Bigot, Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres. African Books Collective, 2010. 404 pages. 9987080936, 9789987080939.
- For slogans and sayings, see Roll over Snoop Dogg, Ocampo is new king of the matatu csmonitor.com, 29 January 2010
- ^ DJ Edu (21 February 2015). "The buses you choose because of their music". Radio 1Xtra. BBC. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
- ^ "The matatus of Nairobi: A necessary bane". www.downtoearth.org.in. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
17bookwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "The Boda-Boda Boom – Part Two". The Boda Boda Boom. 1 March 2016. 6 or 7 minutes in. BBC.
- ^ In Nairobi, Kenya puts brakes on its runaway success csmonitor.com, June 28, 1999.
- ^ a b c Kenya (p. 383). Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 352 pp. 1740597435, 9781740597432.
- ^ a b Nairobi Today: the Paradox of a Fragmented City; Hidden $ Centz: Rolling the Wheels of Nairobi Matatu. Mbugua wa-Mungai. (p. 371). edited by Helene Charton-Bigot, Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres. African Books Collective, 2010. 404 pp. 9987080936, 9789987080939.
- ^ a b Nairobi Today: the Paradox of a Fragmented City; Hidden $ Centz: Rolling the Wheels of Nairobi Matatu. Mbugua wa-Mungai (p. 367). edited by Helene Charton-Bigot, Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres. African Books Collective, 2010. 404 pp. 9987080936, 9789987080939.
- ^ Kumar & Barrett, Stuck in Traffic (2008), p. 17. Archived 2012-09-17 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rodriguez-Torres, Deyssi; Charton-Bigot, Helene (2010). Nairobi Today: The Paradox of a Fragmented City. African Books Collective. ISBN 978-9987-08-093-9.
- ^ a b Kenya (p. 382). Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 352 pp. 1740597435, 9781740597432.
- ^ Nairobi Today: the Paradox of a Fragmented City; Hidden $ Centz: Rolling the Wheels of Nairobi Matatu. Mbugua wa-Mungai. (p. 374), edited by Helene Charton-Bigot, Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres. African Books Collective, 2010. 404 pp. 9987080936, 9789987080939.
- ^ Negotiating social space: East African microenterprises (p. 69). Patrick O. Alila, Poul O. Pedersen. Africa World Press, 2001. 353 pp. 0865439648, 9780865439641.
- ^ For set routes, see Kenya (page 382) Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 352 pages. 1740597435, 9781740597432.
- For termini, see Nairobi Today: the Paradox of a Fragmented City; Hidden $ Centz: Rolling the Wheels of Nairobi Matatu. Mbugua wa-Mungai. (page 374) edited by Helene Charton-Bigot, Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres. African Books Collective, 2010. 404 pages. 9987080936, 9789987080939.
- For intra and inter-city travel, see Negotiating social space: East African microenterprises (page 69) Patrick O. Alila, Poul O. Pedersen. Africa World Press, 2001. 353 pages. 0865439648, 9780865439641.
- ^ Nairobi Today: the Paradox of a Fragmented City; Hidden $ Centz: Rolling the Wheels of Nairobi Matatu. Mbugua wa-Mungai. (page 371) edited by Helene Charton-Bigot, Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres. African Books Collective, 2010. 404 pages. 9987080936, 9789987080939.
- ^ Ride sharing applications disrupt matatu industry in Kenya, see
- ^ SWVL site