A Nairobi resident, only identified as Mwangi, has gone out of his way to ease the burden of overlapping and unruly matatus on the city roads.
The innovator has a list of vehicles, both Public Service Vehicles(PSVs), as well as personal vehicles, that have subscribed to his services on a daily basis.
In a day, at a fee of only Ksh 100 per vehicle, Mwangi enables drivers to avoid roads with traffic.
He has stationed agents on various routes, who through phone calls, inform the interested motorists on the state of the roads they intend to use and advise on those to avoid.
The innovation has proved efficient as he has more than 30 drivers on his list, who seek his services on a daily basis.
According to Oliver Odhiambo, a driver in the Umoja route, "the most important thing is time. When I save time, I get the money. I would not like to be caught up in traffic".
Mwangi, who is based in Isili, claims that he has a group of people who help him monitor traffic along the busy Jogoo road or closer routes.
"Mwangi's innovation has been of great help to us, there are those in Eastleigh, Kamukunji roundabout and even Jogoo Road. So when you make a phone call, they tell you what road is best to use," revealed Odhiambo.
Citizen TV journalists decided to put Mwangi's innovation to the test and boarded one of the matatus on Mwangi's list and were in the CBD within 25 minutes. They again tried the same on a different vehicle and spent over an hour before getting to the CBD.
Odhiambo further added that when using 'watu wa rada', (Mwangi's people), he makes 8 trips as opposed to the days before, when he only managed to make 6 trips by noon, thus making a profit of Ksh 5,000.
Initially, Mwangi would get calls from his friends in the industry finding out the state of the roads, but it has now become a full-time engagement.
During the day when traffic eases, Mwangi retires to his home where he rears livestock in his backyard.
Video Courtesy of Citizen TV.
