Hustlers pay heavy price for transport chaos

Nairobians along Jogoo Road walk to work on Day Two of the public transport crisis. [Stafford Ondego, Stafford]

For two days, Kenyans were left stranded as a nationwide matatu strike disrupted daily life for millions who rely on public transport.

With public service vehicles off the roads and bus fares doubled, thousands of Kenyans were forced to walk long distances to work, while others stayed home and lost income.

In the absence of timely government intervention to address the transport crisis, the burden of the fuel price dispute fell squarely on ordinary citizens, most of them low-income earners, the hustlers.

For two days, long lines of commuters trekked to work, others remained stranded at bus stops from dawn, while many eventually gave up waiting for matatus and returned home.

According to economist and a financial consultant Prof Ng’ang’a Gachara, the fuel crisis and transport paralysis hit hardest those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.

These are the same people President William Ruto once referred to as “hustlers”, the backbone of his political messaging and the constituency he pledged to uplift through what he branded a “hustlers government.”

Yet, as the transport system ground to a halt, it was this group that bore the brunt of the disruption, with the government’s delayed intervention leaving them to navigate the crisis largely on their own. In Nairobi and other major towns, hundreds walked for kilometers in a desperate attempt to report to work.

From estates along Thika Road to the city center, from Eastlands to the Industrial Area and beyond, scenes of men and women, some dressed in official office attire, trudging along highways in cold morning weather became common.

Small businesses reported fewer customers, while some traders were unable to open at all due to transport challenges.

Nairobians along Jogoo Road get alternative means to get to work on Day Two of the public transport crisis. [Stafford Ondego, Stafford]

But Prof Gachara said the situation witnessed on Monday and Tuesday could have been avoided, blaming the delayed government intervention for worsening the crisis and its ripple effects.“With the delay in government intervention, the economy of people at the bottom of the pyramid has been adversely affected,” he said.

Subsidies 

While the broader economy may register losses running into billions of shillings as a result of the transport crisis, Prof Gachara said the impact on individuals at the bottom of the economic pyramid is far more devastating.

“The economy may lose about Sh4 billion per day, but for someone living on Sh200 or Sh300 daily, that is a huge loss. Such a person may not have money to pay rent, feed their children or even pay school fees,” he said.

Prof Gachara argued that timely government intervention through subsidies could have cushioned Kenyans from the impact of the crisis.

“For a government that claims to be pro-hustler and champions the bottom-up economic model, there should be greater concern for people at the bottom of the pyramid,” he said.

According to the economist, the State should establish financial buffers and emergency reserves to shield ordinary citizens from sudden economic shocks.

His sentiments were echoed by Consumers Federation of Kenya Secretary General Stephen Mutoro, who said low-income earners bore the brunt of the transport strike due to lack of financial safety nets.

School children along Jogoo Road walk to work on Day Two of the public transport crisis. [Stafford Ondego, Stafford]Caption

Mutoro noted that for many Kenyans, especially casual labourers, domestic workers, security guards, small-scale traders and street vendors, staying home during the strike was not an option because they depend on daily wages and affordable transport to survive.

“Many low-income workers are employed in the informal sector or low-wage hourly jobs. They either had to walk to work or miss their pay altogether because, for them, missing a day’s work means going without income and, for some families, without food,” said Mutoro.

Unlike salaried professionals, he added, working remotely is not possible for most workers in the informal sector.

Although the strike was called off on Tuesday, Mutoro warned that matatu operators were unlikely to reduce fares immediately, meaning many low-income earners would continue struggling with high transport costs.

“I don’t see matatu operators reducing fare prices and that means many people will continue walking long distances to work,” he said, adding that long commutes reduce productivity and cause physical exhaustion.

Prof Gachara further observed that the disruptions witnessed on Monday and Tuesday created supply chain bottlenecks that pushed up the prices of essential commodities, including food, with the poor suffering the most.

Prof Gachara said the Sh10 reduction in diesel prices demonstrated that the government has room to cushion citizens from economic shocks, but lacked the political goodwill to do so consistently.

He argued that rising fuel prices directly increase production, energy and transport costs, with the burden ultimately transferred to ordinary consumers.

“The ordinary person is becoming more vulnerable because, instead of cushioning citizens, the government is becoming more fiscalised through increased taxation,” he added.