Paratransit business strategies: a bird's eye view of matatus in Nairobi

Abstract

Paper presented at the 30th Annual Southern African Transport Conference 11-14 July 2011 "Africa on the Move", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.

Matatus, as Nairobi's paratransit vehicles are called, are businesses offering a service to the public for a price that their owners hope will yield a profit. This paper investigates the nature and variety of matatu business strategies and their relationship not only to government's stated aim of improving the urban public transport sector but also to the sometimes competing institutions of the public transport industry and the wider society Drawing on interviews of informed observers of matatu businesses, the paper found that matatus are businesses that vary in structure and modes of operation. Their strategic behaviour covered multiple aspects of their businesses The research suggests that Nairobi's publlc transport businesses form a continuum extending from the 'typical' individually owned 14-seat van or mini-bus through larger, more organised firms. One emerging trend appears to be the movement towards higher levels of organisation through franchising, networking, and ownership of multiple vehicles. The paper concludes that matatu businesses render a necessary service to Nairobi's travelling public, but this service is of low quality and generates considerable negative externalities, partly because of erratic enforcement of regulations and endemic corruption. The paper's conclusions will be tested against data to be gathered from the business owners themselves in the second phase of the research.