User:Hullian111/sandbox/Kenya Bus Service

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Kenya Bus Service (KBS) was a bus operator which operated within Kenya, mainly within the capital Nairobi.

History[edit]

Kenya Bus Services Ltd was founded in 1934 by the Overseas Motor Transport Company in London, initially consisting of a fleet of 13 motorbuses operating 12 bus routes in Nairobi, which at this time had a population of around 50,000. As Nairobi was a British colonial settlement at the time, these services only served the east side of the city, largely populated by white Europeans, until shortly before Kenyan independence in 1963.[1][2][3]

Competition[edit]

In 1973, President Jomo Kenyatta issued a decree legalising the carrying of fare-paying passengers aboard matatu (transl. three) share taxis. These engaged in heavy competition with Kenya Bus Service, operating minibuses legally capable of seating 14 to 24 passengers that offered lower fares to destinations that KBS did not or were unable to serve frequently using conventional buses. However, these matatus, initially exempt from regulation by the Transport Licensing Board and licensing by the Public Services Vehicle Board until the passage of the 1984 Traffic Amendment by the Parliament of Kenya, were seen as overcrowded and prone to fatal crashes in comparison to KBS buses.[1][4]

The National Youth Service established the Government Bus Service in 1980 with the donation of DAF buses from the Dutch government, transporting NYS members across Kenya. In 1986, President Daniel arap Moi authorised the NYS to expand into operating low-cost public bus services in Nairobi and other areas, with services often operating in direct competition with Kenya Bus Service as well as the matatus. In 1988, the Nyayo Bus Service (NBS) was founded by the NYS and the Kenyan government, and the company grew to operate over 300 buses donated by the Belgian, Dutch and Italian governments, with NBS employees operating the buses from a depot and housing complex constructed in Ruaraka with funding from the government. This depot was planned to also include more housing complexes as well as the NBS' administrative headquarters and a petrol station, but this project would be abandoned after the building contractor could not afford to finish the project.[5][6][3]

By 1995, NBS had fallen into financial difficulties, with up to two-thirds of its fleet of 367 buses out of use due to severe disrepair while allegations of corruption had been made over the purchasing and subsequent abandonment of new overseas bus chassis. The Nyayo Bus Service was eventually declared insolvent in mid-1995, leaving Kenya Bus Service and the matatus as the sole bus operators in Kenya and resulting in the former NBS operation being dubbed a government 'white elephant'.[5][6]

Stagecoach ownership[edit]

In November 1991, United Transport Overseas Services sold its 75% stake in Kenya Bus Service to Scottish transport group Stagecoach Holdings, who rebranded the company to Stagecoach Kenya Bus and painted buses in a corporate white livery featuring blue, red and orange stripes. Stagecoach established a programme of refurbishing or replacing the acquired fleet of around 250 buses, including purchasing 60 ERF Trailblazer buses with Labh Singh Coachbuilders bodies assembled in Nairobi,[7] and establishing express bus networks across Kenya.[8] Stagecoach Kenya Bus also took delivery a fleet of twenty 115-seat Dennis Dragon tri-axle double-decker buses in 1995,[2] whose Duple Metsec bodies were assembled in knock-down kit form by the Mombasa-based manufacturer Associated Vehicle Assemblers;[9] these were exported back to the United Kingdom in 1998 for use by Stagecoach's Manchester operation, with Stagecoach claiming high temperatures and altitude made the buses unsuitable for use in Kenya.[10] Stagecoach Holdings would increase their stake in Kenya Bus Service to 95%, with the remaining 5% of shares remaining with Nairobi City Council.[11]

On 7 January 1998, a Stagecoach bus in the Central Province operating a service from Meru to Nairobi that was carrying 94 passengers, 50% over the legal limit of 62, fell 100 feet (30 m) and crashed into the Nithi river. The accident killed 58 passengers as well as the driver, conductor and ticket inspector aboard the bus, with a further 16 injured later dying in hospital. A report by Kenyan police stated that the crash was a result of the brakes of the bus failing due to overcrowding and driving above the speed limit, with the Meru-Nairobi road also being slippery after heavy rain in the area.[12][13] Seven months later on 7 August 1998, the driver and five passengers aboard a Stagecoach Kenya bus were killed when a bomb exploded outside the Embassy of the United States in Nairobi.[14] The managing director of Stagecoach Kenya Bus at the time, Inglis Lyon, assisted rescue workers in the aftermath by providing buses to use as makeshift ambulances and the company's tow trucks to help clear rubble from the site of the bombing.[15]

In September 1998, Stagecoach Holdings sold its 95% stake in Kenya Bus Service to a consortium of buyers chaired by Karanja Kabage for around £3,000,000 (equivalent to £6,667,810 in 2023), completing the group's exit from Africa after selling its business in Malawi a year prior.[12][16][11] Stagecoach claimed that competition against the matatus, high vehicle maintenance costs and poor road conditions that worsened following the 1996 and 1998 El Niño rains had led to the withdrawal of the group's operations, following increases of bus fares by between 5 and 15 KSh, withdrawing bus services in Nairobi, laying off more than 400 employees and appointing a new managing director in an attempt to stem heavy financial losses.[17][18][2]

Demise[edit]

In 2003, Minister for Transport and Communication John Michuki introduced new transport regulations aimed at making Kenyan public transport safer, with particular regard to the matatu industry. Nicknamed the 'Michuki Rules', the regulations stipulated that all matatus and public buses in Kenya must be equipped with seatbelts and speed governors. These regulations came into effect in February 2004 and had the immediate effect of grounding the city's bus and matatu fleets for seatbelts and speed governors to be fitted,[19] and were also claimed to be a contributor to Kenya Bus Service's financial difficulties.[20]

By June 2005, Kenya Bus Service, which carried six million passengers yearly with a fleet of 272 buses and 58 Metro-Shuttle minibuses, was competing against up to 15,000 matatu operators across Nairobi and had incurred heavy financial debts of up to KSh730 million, resulting in legal action from the company's creditors. The company's Metro-Shuttle minibuses were impounded by General Motors over unpaid debts, bus services began to be withdrawn across Nairobi, and half of the company's 3,000 staff were laid off to attempt to stem losses.[20][21][22] By the time Kenya Bus Service was dissolved following June 2005, the company had incurred debts of KSh1.2 billion, having made KSh1.37 million in losses daily since the implementation of the 'Michuki Rules' in February 2004.[23]

A successor to Kenya Bus Service named 'Kenya Bus Service Management Limited' was formed by former KBS staff in 2006. The company operates a franchising model in collaboration with local bus companies, operating up to 152 franchised services that use seven buses each, and also operates the only Passenger Carrying Vehicle training school in Kenya.[24]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Khayesi, Meleckidzedeck; Nafukho, Fredrick (3 March 2016). Informal Public Transport in Practice: Matatu Entrepreneurship. New York: Routledge. pp. 26–32. ISBN 978-1-4094-4692-7. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Opiyo, Tom. "The Metamorphosis of Kenya Bus Services Limited in the Provision of Urban Transport in Nairobi" (PDF). SSATP Africa Transport Policy Program. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b Odenyo, Akello (2018). "Genesis of chaos: How Nairobi's public transport system collapsed". The Standard. Nairobi. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  4. ^ Kraft, Scott (28 June 1986). "Matatus: No-Frills Answer to a Bus Shortage in Kenya". Los Angeles Times. p. 6. ProQuest 292403418.
  5. ^ a b "White elephants from the Nyayo Era". Daily Nation. Nairobi. 16 August 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b Waweru, Kinudu (2013). "The rise and fall of Nyayo's buses service as graft eroded all gains". The Standard. Nairobi. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Kenya gets 12-metre buses". Coach & Bus Week. No. 150. Peterborough: Emap. 14 January 1995. p. 8.
  8. ^ Jarosz, Andrew (4 March 1995). "Out of Africa". Coach & Bus Week. No. 157. Peterborough: Emap. pp. 35–36. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  9. ^ Fenton, Mike (21 June 2018). "Fenton File". Buses. No. 760. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 59. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Kenya Dragons for Manchester". Bus & Coach Buyer. No. 449. Spalding: Glen-Holland Limited. 6 March 1998. p. 4. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Team seeks KBS turn-around". Daily Nation. Nairobi. 3 November 1998. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via AllAfrica.
  12. ^ a b Mackay, Neil; Kemp, Kenny (12 September 1999). "Death on the Nithi". The Herald. Glasgow. p. 9. ProQuest 331258260.
  13. ^ "54 die in Kenyan Bus Crash". BBC News. 8 January 1998. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  14. ^ "CARNAGE! - Scores die as bomb blast rocks city". Daily Nation. Nairobi. 7 August 1998. Retrieved 9 September 2023 – via AllAfrica.
  15. ^ "He was passed down from one aid worker to another alive from his tomb of concrete; Israelis find survivor 36 hours after the blast". Sunday Mail. Glasgow. 9 August 1998. p. 8. ProQuest 328349842.
  16. ^ "City Bus Firm Changes Hands". Daily Nation. Nairobi. 2 October 1998. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via AllAfrica.
  17. ^ Macharia, James (6 July 1998). "Stagecoach changes tactics to survive as buses are grounded". Africa News Service. p. 1. ProQuest 449316192.
  18. ^ Ford, Jonathan (2 October 1998). "Stagecoach completes exit from Africa". Financial Times. London. p. 23. ProQuest 248696965.
  19. ^ Agutu, Mark (5 February 2004). "Michuki Holds Crisis Talks On 'Matatu' Laws". Daily Nation. Nairobi. Archived from the original on 5 February 2004. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via AllAfrica.
  20. ^ a b Mathenge, Gakuu (5 June 2005). "Bus firm in trouble as creditors strike". Daily Nation. Nairobi. ProQuest 458604405 – via BBC Monitoring Africa.
  21. ^ "Behind the crisis at Kenya Bus". Daily Nation. Nairobi. 5 July 2005. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  22. ^ Otieno, Juliett (13 June 2005). "Kenya: Save Kenya Bus From Collapse, MP Pleads". The Standard. Nairobi. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via AllAfrica.
  23. ^ Kihuria, Njonjo (2005). "How new transport rules crippled Kenya Bus". djxp.com. East Africa Standard Newspapers. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  24. ^ Pelis, Andrew. "Kenya Bus Service Management Ltd". Business Excellence. London. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
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