We have had some crazy situations on these vans, and they always seem to be an adventure.
Some have been old and junky, others have been tricked out with big screen TVs and padded ceilings.
Sometimes we pay 20 bob (about 25 cents) and sometimes 50 bob. We like to have exact change so that they do not keep a tip for themselves.
Everyone has a driver and another guy that acts as money collector, advertiser, change maker, stop announcer, matatu banger, and passenger recruiter. He is what really makes a matatu.
Money Collector: When you get on the matatu, you know that you need to pay, but the time of payment is up to him. Sometimes it happens right away, other times you drive for quite some time. Usually it is somewhere in between, but when you need change the same thing happens. Usually, he takes your money, collects the money from everyone else, and then it appears he is done. After driving a little longer, he then decides it is time to give change and proceeds to do so.
Advertising: When it is time to find a matatu, you know the route and the price because he is yelling out where the van is heading to all those who pass by.
Change Maker: This is a new one that I was a part of today for the first time. Apparently, our guy needed to make change from a 500 bill in order to give change back to the other passengers. As we drove through traffic-congested streets, he talked to a few other matatus and asked for change. One van almost took the bill, but then drove off. Then our guy gave the 500 to another matatu’s driver. We then dropped behind them, due to the traffic, swerved here and there, then came up on the other side of the matatu where the change was handed back. A few minutes later, another matatu guy asked our matatu guy to change a 500 for him, and our guy took it (I was wondering why, since he just changed a 500 and now he was going to change another one, but such is matatu life). It seemed like our guy was trying to give him 400 in change for the 500, but since they completely deal with each other in Swahili, I wasn’t exactly sure. Our guy took the 500 and we kept driving, but we weren’t able to pull next to them again. So when the traffic stopped, their guy jumped out, transacted with our guy, and then hopped back in his own matatu!
Stop Announcer: When you need to get off of the matatu, you tell your guy and he will do one of many things. He either tells the driver when and where to stop, whistles really loudly, opens the door and starts to hang outside the matatu (where he simultaneously acts as advertiser as well), or most often he bangs on the walls or roof of the matatu with his fist or open hand… which leads to the next role.
Matatu Banger: This can be my favorite. All matatu guys hit, bang, and smack their matatus. You hit to stop, you hit to go, and apparently, you also hit for no reason. While waiting for passengers at a stop, surrounded by a crowd of other matutus , the banging gets out of control. Sometimes while we are sitting inside there is banging coming from all sides of the matatu. A double bang here, a single there. I still have not totally figured out why they beat up their vans so much or why every Kenyan man on the streets likes to hit these things, but for some reason, when it gets crazy, it really makes me laugh.
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Passenger Recruitor: It does not matter where you need to go, you should always be going where they are going. Even if you are walking up the street, not looking for a matatu, you will be invited to get inside every matatu you pass by. If you happen to be looking for a matatu, it is hard to see the number without almost getting grabbed and thrown inside. In fact, they are so good at passenger recruitment that early in the month a couple of our guys got tricked into getting on a matatu that took them in the opposite direction that they needed to go, which is a whole other story in itself.
All in all, we love the matatus and it sure makes life here an adventure
