27 images Created 29 Oct 2019
Matatu Metropolis
In western countries, public transport is generally considered environmentally friendly and positive for air quality and the CO2 footprint. In Nairobi, Kenya's capital, there is no such thing. Tens of thousands of old, scrappy buses pollute the air, clog the roads and bring traffic in the big city to an almost complete standstill every day.
One one hand, the Matatus are heavily polluting the air in Nairobi. The World Health Organisation estimates that almost 19,000 people die prematurely in Kenya every year as a result of air pollution, including many children, and a large proportion of these deaths are certainly due to the Matatus, as buses in Kenya are called.
On the other hand, the Matatus are much more than just a means of transport, they are also part of the youth culture. Every single Matatu is a rolling work of art in itself. In order to make the old buses more attractive, the owners of the Matatus have the buses pimped not only with artistic graffiti, but also with crazy interiors, potent sound systems, screens on walls and seats, colourful interior lighting. Some Matatus even show off with exclusive DJ mixes.
Most bus drivers leave the engines of their buses running all day long. On the one hand because the LED screens and board entertainment systems inside would otherwise drain the vehicle's battery in no time, and on the other hand because the bus drivers want to make people believe that the bus will be leaving shortly, eager to attract more passengers,
As a consequence, all over Nairobi, one of the world’s most gridlocked cities, thousands of Matatus idle their engines, sending millions of small harmful, polluting particles into the city’s air. Although the Matatus clog the roads and pollute the air, politicians have difficulty enforcing stricter rules, This is due to the fact that they create hundreds of thousands of jobs, but maybe also because many politicans own Matatus themselves and earn a lot of money from this lucrative business.
Year: 2019
One one hand, the Matatus are heavily polluting the air in Nairobi. The World Health Organisation estimates that almost 19,000 people die prematurely in Kenya every year as a result of air pollution, including many children, and a large proportion of these deaths are certainly due to the Matatus, as buses in Kenya are called.
On the other hand, the Matatus are much more than just a means of transport, they are also part of the youth culture. Every single Matatu is a rolling work of art in itself. In order to make the old buses more attractive, the owners of the Matatus have the buses pimped not only with artistic graffiti, but also with crazy interiors, potent sound systems, screens on walls and seats, colourful interior lighting. Some Matatus even show off with exclusive DJ mixes.
Most bus drivers leave the engines of their buses running all day long. On the one hand because the LED screens and board entertainment systems inside would otherwise drain the vehicle's battery in no time, and on the other hand because the bus drivers want to make people believe that the bus will be leaving shortly, eager to attract more passengers,
As a consequence, all over Nairobi, one of the world’s most gridlocked cities, thousands of Matatus idle their engines, sending millions of small harmful, polluting particles into the city’s air. Although the Matatus clog the roads and pollute the air, politicians have difficulty enforcing stricter rules, This is due to the fact that they create hundreds of thousands of jobs, but maybe also because many politicans own Matatus themselves and earn a lot of money from this lucrative business.
Year: 2019
