The public transport in Nairobi and Kenya is driven by the private sector. The common means of travel in Nairobi is by matatu. However, there are other modes you can use travel around the city and its metropolis if you can afford.
Public transport system in Nairobi: Main ways to travel
1. Matatu
The Nairobi matatu culture is popular. Matatus have different designs and varying passenger capacities. Depending on size, they are allowed to carry 7, 11, 14, 32 passengers.
Each matatu has a driver who should be dressed in blue uniform, and a conductor dressed in maroon uniform. They can also be dressed in sacco uniform. The conductor collects fare in cash. More and more matatus now accept mpesa payments but none accepts card payments.
Each matatu must belong to a sacco (savings and credit cooperative societies) or a limited liability company. Each sacco has a designated matatu route. Some saccos ply on more than one route.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) licences and regulates these saccos. A sacco can get banned for flouting road or route number rules. However, this does not mean that this sector is not as chaotic as it comes.
While smaller matatus have a yellow stripe, most bigger matatus are painted with al sorts of cultural graffiti. Loud music and video are common in most pimped matatus.
2. Buses
Once upon a time, there were two major shuttle bus companies in Kenya: The Kenya Bus Service and the Nyayo Bus Service. They were quite organised. However Nyayo Bus collapsed while Kenya Bus is a struggling company today due to mismanagement and corruption in the industry.
The following bus services operate in Nairobi:
- Kenya Bus Service
- Neo Kenya Company (Kenya Mpya)
- Citti Hoppa
- City Shuttle
- Double M Bus services
BasiGo has introduced electric buses for some companies such as City Hoppa. Buses operate just like matatus, the difference lies in the passenger capacity.
They don’t operate with time for departures and arrivals. They fill up the bus by touting, where conductors and touts call out loudly to commuters to board the bus. Once the bus fills up, it leaves the station for the next bus on queue.
3. Matatu hailing apps
The most recognized bus hailing app is SWVL. The other is Little Shuttle. You hail matatus just like you would Uber or Bolt. You can book the shared shuttle for a specific time to drop you at a specific destination.
The matatu hailing apps have faced a lot of competition though, and are shifting focus to long distance travel. In fact, you can board these without booking due to low customer numbers.
4. Taxi and taxi apps
Traditional taxi ranks are spread over the city, where you negotiate fare. The taxis are required to have a yellow strip or a company logo. They display ‘Taxi’ on the top of the car.
Otherwise, hail a ride using any of the many taxi apps in Nairobi. Sometimes, drivers of these apps may want to renegotiate fare because of poor commissions.
5. Bodaboda
Bodaboda are motorcycles offering public transport. They are all over the city and its environs, and in every town and city in Kenya.
Motorcycle taxis largely don’t have conspicuous identification details. However, they are the most widely used transport vehicles apart from matatus. They are supposed to carry one pillion passenger and mostly operate within short distances.
Public transport in Nairobi is incomplete without bodabodas. You can catch one from anywhere in the city. They are probably the most convenient in terms of saving time. They manoeuvre easily through the choking traffic jams of Nairobi.
However, these manoeuvres are also the most dangerous thrills. Bodabodas account for the most number of accidents and road deaths in Kenya. Most barely pay attention to traffic rules nor stop at the lights. Talk to your person to be careful and put safety first.
The only BodaBoda hailing app is by Bolt since SafeBoda left due to poor business.
6. TukTuk
TukTuks make some parts of the city look like India or Pakistan. These little vehciles should carry three passengers. They operate within short distances that are not covered by matatus.
For instance, it is easy to travel from downtown CBD to another part such as Country Bus Station using a tuktuk than with matatu.
7. Train
The Kenya Railways operates commuter trains at particular hours from select estates in Nairobi.
Commuters mostly use it in the mornings and evenings. There are plans to add more commuter trains for efficiency.
At the moment, there are between the CBD and estates. They include: CDB – Kikuyu, CBD – Eastlands via Makadara. Anyone living in between these estates on the route can board the train.
Trains are not the most efficient way to move around. They are the cheapest though, charging half the fare price.
Public transport in Nairobi remains a big challenge when compared to other cities across the world. Plans to make it efficient are hampered by many factors including inconsiderate infrastructure, private ownership of the transport vehicles, and large population of the city.
