Robert, I didn't call anyone anything. It's a well-known fact that the matatu business is a cash business - I haven't looked up the data, but I doubt that there is any taxation that captures anything near the actual turnover in the business. This is not unique to the matatu business, but it certainly is the case here. And in the context of our discussion, it is a strong disincentive to employing systems that would, as a side effect, capture all cash transactions - even more so when you can't legally offset some of the costs of your business. You can see matatus paying off policemen at all cornerns of the city (and I'm sure that everyone on this list who drives has been hit on by police for a bribe. I certainly have). It's a cost to public transport operators. There's also plenty of publicly available evidence about the links between the matatu industry and organised crime like Mungiki. Again, paying protection money is a cost if you run such a business (and if you don't, your business won't survive long). That technology can make transactions vastly more transparent is its strength - but also often acts as a disincentive in deploying such systems, whether in government or in private businesses. I seem to recall that the introduction of ETRs wasn't so popular either. Again, this is by no means unique to Kenya, but it's an important factor to consider when pushing for the implementation of technical innovation: There may well be non-technical reasons that are a powerful obstacle. Not unsurmountable, of course, but if you want to implement new technology, you need to understand what could create problems. On 27 June 2011 12:28, Dennis Kioko <dmbuvi@gmail.com> wrote:
KBS and Citi Hopa are glorified matatu managers. At the moment, the owner of the matatu pays them a fee to have their matatu as part of the franchise. I guess then that the owner then demands a daily amount from the crew, much the same way other crew operate.
I think that with the formation of other Saccos, it's a matter of time before they are done. Citi Hoppa even has a reputation of dropping passengers off before their destination. Compare the Double M Eastland queues to Citi Hoppa who instead have the matatu's queueing looking for people.
The City Centre has long been their forte. It's time other Saccos were allowed to bid for the city centre
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