Matatu

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Public transportation minibuses in Kenya

title: "Matatu" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["public-transport-in-kenya", "share-taxis"] description: "Public transportation minibuses in Kenya" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matatu" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Public transportation minibuses in Kenya ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Kenia_matatu.jpg" caption="Riding in a Kenyan ''matatu'' – minibus size"] ::

In Kenya, matatu or matatus (known as mathree in Sheng) are privately owned minibuses used as share taxis.For Kenya and neighbouring nations, see Kenya's Taxi Vans Are Packed and Perilous nytimes.com, 24 April 1988

Although their origins can be traced back to the 1960s, matatu saw growth in Kenya in the 1980s and 1990s. The matatu culture sprang 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. In Kenya, this industry is regulated, and such minibuses must, by law, be fitted with seatbelts and speed governors. Present regulation may not be a sufficient deterrent to prevent small infractions as even decoration may be prohibited. Kenya has one of the "most extensive regulatory controls to market entry", and a matatu worker can be pulled from the streets simply for sporting too loud a shirt.

They may ply set routes, display this route, run from termini, run both inter and intra-city, and may stop along said route to purchase or collect money from passengers.For set routes, see Kenya (page 382) Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 352 pages. 1740597435, 9781740597432.

Etymology

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Matatus.jpg" caption="Brightly-coloured matatus in Mombasa in 2022"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/MatatuAdrian.webm" caption="A matatu painted with images of American rapper [[A$AP Rocky]] in central Nairobi in 2021"] ::

The name derives from a Swahili or Kikuyu colloquialism meaning "three". One explanation is that three 10-cent coins made up the typical 30-cent fare in the 1970s. There is no universally agreed opinion on an origin for the name, however, alternatively, one news source suggests its origin lies in the Kikuyu language, specifically from the Kikuyu phrase 'mang’otore matatu' meaning 30 cents.

Public perception

At times in Kenya, the matatu has been associated with criminality or reckless driving. Writes one academic, "by the end of the 1990s, matatu operators were typically viewed... by Kenyans of all ranks as thugs who exploited and mistreated passengers and participated in gang or mafia-like violence."

In the early 2000s, a struggle over control of matatu routes by informal groups led to violence, and another from 1999 proclaiming that the "menace of deadly matatus [is] to be curbed." Corruption in the matatu industry is exacerbated by the prevalent practice of bribery, as matatu operators are forced to pay regular bribes to Kenyan police officers in order to avoid their vehicles being impounded and penalties.

Kenyan regulation

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/2022Matatu.jpg" caption="A matatu with luggage on top near [[Voi]] in 2022"] ::

Matatus were explicitly deemed legal in 1973, but it was only in 1984 that even the most basic regulatory framework was constructed for matatus, when licensing and inspections were mandated.

Today, Kenya has been described as having extensive regulatory controls, and a matatu worker can be pulled from the streets simply for sporting too loud a shirt.For extensive Kenyan regulatory control, see Stuck in Traffic; Urban Transport in Africa (page 14) Ajay Kumar & Fanny Barrett. Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic in co-operation with the World Bank, January 2008. Draft Final Report.

The present regulation may not be a sufficient deterrent to prevent small infractions, as even decoration may be prohibited.For regulation as insufficient deterrent, see Nairobi Today: the Paradox of a Fragmented City; Hidden $ Centz: Rolling the Wheels of Nairobi Matatu. Mbugua wa-Mungai. (page 367) edited by Helene Charton-Bigot, Deyssi Rodriguez-Torres. African Books Collective, 2010. 404 pages. 9987080936, 9789987080939.

In the 1990s and the 2000s, informal groups emerged managing routes and requiring matatu drivers to pay fees. At times, competition over control of routes precipitated violence. Today, an individual matatu must be associated with one of over 600 independent, government-registered groups known as SACCOs (Savings and Credit Cooperatives).For requirement to associate, see

  • For number of SACCOs and government registration, see

As of late 2010, the Kenyan government policy is to phase out minibus matatu in the capital city Nairobi in favour of larger buses seating twenty five or more. Currently, no new matatu vehicles can operate in Nairobi, and the existing ones will be allowed to continue serving passengers until they become completely inoperable. It could take ten years or more to ease the congestion caused by more popular smaller minibuses, however.

Environmental and health impacts

Matatus, which are most frequently diesel vehicles, are frequently idling in urban areas, creating additional air and noise pollution. In some areas, matatu drivers are actively discouraged from idling the vehicle while stopped, leading to fuel consumption and exhaust when the vehicle is not in motion. Some companies are exploring electric buses as a potential replacement for the high-emission vehicles. SACCOs like Citi Hoppa and Super Metro started using electric buses in 2022 that were BYD K6 leased by BasiGo.

In popular media

In the Netflix series Sense8, Capheus, a main character who lives in Nairobi, drives the matatu Van Damn, a tribute to Capheus' favorite action star, Jean-Claude Van Damme. A matatu is also featured in an episode of the seventh season of the Netflix series Big Mouth.

References

References

  1. DJ Edu. (21 February 2015). "The buses you choose because of their music". BBC.
  2. "The matatus of Nairobi: A necessary bane".
  3. "The Boda-Boda Boom – Part Two".
  4. [https://www.csmonitor.com/1999/0628/p1s3.html In Nairobi, Kenya puts brakes on its runaway success] csmonitor.com, June 28, 1999.
  5. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTf0Aki6AUQC&dq=Matatu%20share%20taxi&pg=PA383 Kenya (p. 383).] Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 352 pp. 1740597435, 9781740597432.
  6. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLX9n4fG5V8C&dq=matatu&pg=PA371 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.
  7. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLX9n4fG5V8C&dq=matatu&pg=PA367 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.
  8. [http://www.siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTAFRSUBSAHTRA/Resources/Stuck-in-Traffic.pdf Kumar & Barrett, ''Stuck in Traffic'' (2008), p. 17.] {{webarchive. link. (2012-09-17)
  9. (2010). "Nairobi Today: The Paradox of a Fragmented City". African Books Collective.
  10. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTf0Aki6AUQC&dq=Matatu%20share%20taxi&pg=PA382 Kenya (p. 382).] Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 352 pp. 1740597435, 9781740597432.
  11. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLX9n4fG5V8C&dq=matatu&pg=PA374 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.
  12. [https://books.google.com/books?id=22Ljy2k2b7MC&dq=matatu&pg=PA69 Negotiating social space: East African microenterprises (p. 69).] Patrick O. Alila, Poul O. Pedersen. Africa World Press, 2001. 353 pp. 0865439648, 9780865439641.
  13. [https://books.google.com/books?id=SLX9n4fG5V8C&dq=matatu&pg=PA371 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.
  14. [https://qz.com/africa/1531062/kenyas-matatu-buses-face-disruption-by-little-swvl-safiri/ Ride sharing applications disrupt matatu industry in Kenya, see]
  15. [https://swvl.com/ SWVL site]
  16. Thugs or Entrepreneurs? Perceptions of matatu Operators in Nairobi, 1970 to the Present. Kenda Mutongi. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute Vol. 76, No. 4 (2006), pp. 550
  17. Edward Harris. "Matatu buses add color, entertainment to Kenya's rutted roads." Sunday Gazette-Mail. Gazette Daily Inc. 2007. HighBeam Research. 13 June 2015
  18. McKinley Jr., James C.. (16 April 1996). "Nairobi Journal;Take (On) the Minibuses, if You Dare". The New York Times.
  19. Otani, Robert. "Menace of Deadly Matatus to Be Curbed." African Business. IC Publications Ltd. 1999. HighBeam Research. 6 June 2015
  20. and contemporary headlines highlight the fact that ''matatu'' were perceived as unsafe. These include a 2002 article titled "riding in Kenya's taxi vans is [a] death-defying experience""Riding in Kenya's taxi vans is death-defying experience." Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL). Tribune. 2002. HighBeam Research. 6 June 2015
  21. Mistreatment of passengers has also been reported and includes: "verbal and physical abuse, theft, hijacking, ...sexual harassment, beatings, and rape.""No Mercy, No Remorse": Personal Experience Narratives about Public Passenger Transportation in Nairobi, Kenya. Mbugua wa Mungai and David A. Samper. Africa Today. Vol. 52, No. 3 (Spring, 2006), pp. 51-81
  22. (2023-06-06). "Fuel Prices And Corruption Are Hitting Kenya’s Public Transport Hard {{!}} STP News".
  23. Mutongi, Kenda. (2017). "Matatu: A History of Popular Transportation in Nairobi". University of Chicago Press.
  24. [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTf0Aki6AUQC&dq=Matatu%20share%20taxi&pg=PA383 Kenya (page 383)] Tom Parkinson, Max Phillips, Will Gourlay. Lonely Planet, 2006. 352 pages. 1740597435, 9781740597432.
  25. "Inside Africa" ''CNN International'' 25 October 2016
  26. A City under Siege: Banditry & Modes of Accumulation in Nairobi, 1991–2004. Musambayi Katumanga. Review of African Political Economy Vol. 32, No. 106, Africa from SAPs to PRSP: Plus Ca Change Plus C'est la Meme Chose (Dec., 2005), pp. 505-520
  27. Ngirachu, John. (31 December 2010). "New rules to rein in wild sector". Nation Media Group.
  28. (2018-12-19). "Nairobi matatus' odd engine idling culture pollutes, harms health".
  29. (2022-03-10). "Citi Hoppa, East Shuttle get electric buses".
  30. "Super Metro gets first electric bus".
  31. (October 20, 2023). "The International Show".

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