Well, there are a number of reasons why that will not happen soon. I work for a bus fabrication company,this is my experience..

1. You can tell that the bus from the first world has a smooth finish. That smooth finish comes at a dear cost. Now,the people who buy these buses are businessmen. They are after recouping their investment. Even if the local manufacturer's bought the machines to do such a fine job, they wouldn't find people to sell their expensive buses to.
There is also a monopoly in this glass industry and if one designs a bus with a unique type of glass,the glass people will make you wait for weeks so that they can make some "template" for this NEW glass type. The only other alternative is importing the glass. Most people aren't willing to wait, it's a business and they need it to have their buses on the road soonest.The cost of maintaining the sleek bus is also much higher in comparison to the other.

2. Like someone said, the glass is too much. It looks pretty but I can tell you businessmen aren't willing to buy such a bus and leave them in the hands of their employees. Let's accept this, the matatu industry isn't the smoothest. Even with the blacksheet(mabati), the buses still get scratches and dents all the time, I can only imagine if that was glass, they would be in and out of workshops atleast thrice a week.

3.Our roads are bad. Yes, most of the roads are now much better but we are not yet there. I can tell you most people who decide to go the asian way, especially after an experience with the local buses usually end up "coming back home" in the end. For some reason, these buses from developed countries are quite weak, they just don't survive our roads like our local buses.


All that said, there are definitely much better looking buses than the one pictured here. It is definitely NOT a good representation of locally manufactured buses.

Why don't you post the best design the local assemblers have come up with?

I have always wondered why we cant have a PPP for bus rapid transport system in NBI which is comfortable, reliable and convenient for personal car drivers....see what they did in Bogota, Colombia here http://www.streetfilms.o...s-rapid-transit-bogota/

Then I realize that Kanjo need the parking money to eat.

The Bogota system is amazing.Infact no need for elevated highways.Wonderful.

Any student of Public Transportation will tell you that successful transit systems can't be modeled along profit making enterprises. All functioning systems, including the Bogota one shown here are heavily subsidized by the state and can't be left to the whims of capitalism. The sooner we realize that the better off we will be. I think HE Kidero has seen the point, but is being weighed back by populist 14 seater proclamations. (14 seaters however do have a place in the transport ecosystem, like the bicycles in Bogota serving a spoke and hub system, but even they have to be owned by the metro council). And truth be told, what value will a cashless system add to the city passenger apart from ensuring that the capitalist pig gets all his returns, thereby fueling more greed?

haiya, sasa all the others who are not personal car drivers can continue with the uncomfortable, unreliable and inconvenient system.