Born City: We played hide and seek with KBS conductors

 KBS, which was the only mode of transport in the city, charged a blanket 50cts for fare. Photo: Courtesy

The recent launch of long buses calls for a thumbs up — they will help reduce traffic in the city.

Talking of buses, they have been here for as long as I can remember — only that they neither change with modern technology nor adapt to new customer needs.

Back in the day, before moving to Buruburu 1 Primary School, I was a pupil at Khalsa Primary — next to the bus station — which has unfortunately been turned into some college.

At Buru Two, the only means of transport was Kenya Bus Service (KBS) number 21. The buses would characteristically stop at Harambee estate, near the police post, forcing us to walk the rest of the journey to Buru Phase Two.

Later, when the road was extended to the present-day Buru shopping centre — which we cheekily called ‘Mausoleum’ because it had a bar that resembled Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s final resting place — the buses would go all the way to our homes.

KBS, which was the only mode of transport in the city, charged a blanket 50cts for fare. The buses had a scheduled operation time which they adhered to religiously.

Boarding the buses demanded wit. I remember when I joined Class One, my folks only accompanied me to school — aboard KBS — for one week. I had to survive the rest of the term alone. It was unlike today where ‘Cerelac babies’ are brought up with soft gloves. Grown ups cannot be left to go to school alone for fear of getting lost.

Most of the time, I had to wait for the bus in the morning, alone, go to school and return in the evening. Meanwhile, you had to keep your money safely, away from bullies and chokoras. It also meant developing discipline — you ha d to contain your appetite so you don’t spend the bus fare on samosa, mabuyu, kaimati, simsim, sukari nguru or kashata. It was no easy task.

My sister Becky and I would occasionally succumb to temptations — which meant we had to walk all the way to Buru!

The buses had their main offices at Bus Station (BS), Eastleigh and OTC — and there was the option of paying the fare in advance.

And you were unlikely to find kids seating while adults stood in the buses. That was real discipline.

Much later, after advancing to upper primary, we had a bus pass — blue in colour — which was paid for monthly. The bus pass had your picture and name.

Later, after joining secondary school — we evolved and became cheeky especially when the bus pass expired. We would play hide and seek with the conductor and the inspector.  One had to know how to deftly drop when the bus was moving and board again when it started moving. This was possible as the buses had  two doors.

But things changed for KBS due to competition from unregulated Ford and Volkswagen Kombi matatus. Later on, things went from bad to worse after the government introduced Nyayo buses, which were cheaper. But we still preferred KBS because of the long rides.  Buru got its famous number 58 matatus, replacing bus number 36, which plied  between town, through Jogoo Road, Buru, Kariobangi and ended up in Dandora. We loved the experience.

 

After landing jobs, we would drink at Mercury, Princess or Green Corner, near Ambassadeur bus stop. The last bus, number 36, would leave at 10pm. If you missed it, then going home would be a tall order, as one could not afford taxi.

If only the new buses will go the old way, when bus passes brought smiles to passengers’ faces? I am talking about clean seats and mobile phone charging units.

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@AineaOJiambo