Operators Redesign Their Vehicles To Comply With Social Distancing

By Nsunjo Erica

In order to meet with the government’s COVID-19 guidelines which limit the number of passengers in all public service vehicles, Matatu operators have decided to redesign their vehicles to maintain social distancing.

The new sitting arrangement leaves enough space between passengers on both sides. The seats are no longer attached to each other like before, the rows in the matatus are now two unlike before when it was one.

According to the matatu operators, the new seating arrangement is a win-win for all as it not allows the maintenance of social distancing but also allows the operators to make extra money.

The Matatu operators say that the new sitting arrangement works for them as they can now accommodate 24 passengers as opposed to 17 passengers as directed by the government.

“Initially we were carrying 16 passengers but with the new system we can carry more passengers and meet our costs and also service loans,” Fred Mwangi who works with Metro Trans, says.

Public service operators developed this new design of their vehicles in order to comply with the new government guidelines requiring them to limit their capacity in line with the social distancing guidelines

In the new guidelines, a 14 seater matatu is to carry 10 passengers as opposed to 8 including driver and crew while 33-seaters will now be allowed a sitting capacity of 18 including the driver and crew.

Passengers that have sat in matatus with this new design explain that it feel safe whenever you’re on this bus, unlike the other one where the driver might decide to pick more passengers along the way despite it carrying enough.

The new matatu arrangement design doesn’t only maintain social distancing but also allows operators to uphold hygiene standards and undertake fumigation with ease as no seat is paired to the other and this provides enough space.

New Guidelines On Matatus

In the new guidelines, a 14 seater matatu will now carry 10 passengers as opposed to 8 including driver and crew while 33-seaters will now be allowed a sitting capacity of 18 including the driver and crew.

51 seater matatu will be allowed a sitting capacity of 30 including the driver and crew, while in the case of bodabodas, only one pillion passenger shall be carried.

As for the Tuktuks, they will only be allowed to carry one passenger including the rider. Cars that have a capacity of five people will only be allowed to ferry three individuals including the driver.