Do you enjoy loud music? If you don’t then better take up the challenge of these bold matatu passengers next time you are travelling. For a long time travellers have suffered in silence all due to fear of speaking up over the problem with noisy vehicles.
Well not in this occasion however where a driver plying the Migori-Kisii route on Thursday got a rude shock when passengers alighted from his matatu without paying fare.
This was after the driver refused to reduce the volume of the car’s music system.A passenger had requested the driver to lower the music volume to enable him to receive a call.
However, the rude driver refused and instead referred the passenger to graffiti in the matatu which stated, “No calls, SMS only”.
The driver, who only identified himself as Momanyi, shouted unprintable words. He said no one should dictate to him what to do.
“If one cannot follow the obvious, then I am sorry do not board this vehicle,” the driver said as he increased the volume of the music.
Some passengers who were suffering in silence could not take it any more.Although they had coiled in silence at the blaring music they jumped to their fellow passenger’s defence.
They forced the driver to stop the vehicle and alighted in protest.
The conductor took sides with the passengers. He said he cannot continue working with a rude driver and the passengers left without paying fare.
The driver cut short his trip and returned to Migori bus stage minus his conductor. The driver said he incurred a loss of Sh3,000.
Passenger Maurice Otieno complained that matatu operators acted as if they were a law to themselves.He asked the traffic police to redouble their efforts in enforcing traffic rules.
Even though playing loud music is outlawed, matatus have totally ignored the directive.Last month, the government reinforced the “Michuki rules” to tame road carnage