Eastleigh matatus come to the rescue of stranded passengers travelling to Garissa

It was a boom for matatu operators of Eastleigh Route 9 following a crisis created by an upsurge of passengers travelling to Garissa from Nairobi after the December holiday season.

The operators seized the opportunity to transport passengers from Nairobi and Mwingi town to Garissa following the transport crisis.

Hundreds of travellers were stranded as they returned from the December holiday.

Also contributing to the crisis is the fact that many buses were already fully booked as learners prepared to resume school for the first term.

Simon Mburu who drives a matatu which operates on Eastleigh Route 9 said they were making a killing out of the crisis, charging passengers travelling from Nairobi to Garissa Sh2,000 each instead of the usual Sh1,500, while bus fares from Mwingi to Garissa town increased from Sh500 to Sh1,000.

"We were going for the second trip to ferry passengers from Mwingi town to Garissa when we met stranded passengers on our way from Nairobi. The crisis is biting and almost 10 matatus from Eastleigh Route 9 came in to ease the crisis," he said.

Mburu said bus companies plying the route were fully booked and some of the bus operators approached the Eastleigh matatus asking them to help ease the transport crisis.

David Njuguna, another matatu driver, said the journey was long and tiresome but they have been making good money since Saturday after they decided to seize the opportunity to make business out of the crisis.

Ismail Mohamud, a passenger who travelled on one of the Eastleigh Route 9 matatus from Nairobi to Garissa on Sunday said he had been stranded in the city for four days alongside other passengers. He had been moving in vain from one booking office to another seeking an opportunity to travel to Garissa by bus.

"The idea to bring in the matatus was timely and appropriate despite the hiked fares," he said.

Ibrahim Aden of Ryan bus company which plies the Nairobi-Garissa route confirmed to The Eastleigh Voice that all bus companies in Eastleigh were fully booked, resulting in an unprecedented transport crisis.

He said sights of stranded passengers at the Eastleigh booking offices and passengers stranded along the Garissa-Nairobi road in Mwingi town was worrying.

He noted that the intervention by the Eastleigh matatus was a relief for the passengers.