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Akamba bus collapse
Rank: Elder Joined: 3/2/2009 Posts: 26,328 Location: Masada
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Where did they get the name Akamba? Any kao relationship? Portfolio: Sold
You know you've made it when you get a parking space for your yatcht.
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Rank: Member Joined: 8/11/2009 Posts: 302
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chiaroscuro wrote:alustaadh wrote:Intelligentsia wrote:Tis hard, nay impossible, to run a large passenger bus fleet,huh? If I was the CEO of Easy Coach/ Eldoret Express i would very keenly study the many carcases that litter the passenger bus transport landscape:
1)OTC
2)Jogoo Kimakya
3)Ngwareini
4)Stage-coach/KBS
5)Mbukinya (making a comeback)
6)mawingo
7)shaggy
8) kangasha
9) Benways
10) Kirenga 11) Rwega 12) Kwega 13) magutu swinger 14) Transkenya. 15) webuye express 16) gitero. 17) roadways nyanza 18) blue line 19) safeways. 20) Otwoma The secret of survival is to be found at Coast Bus... Continuously renewing their fleet. Maintaining buses if very good quality. Many companies have come and gone on the Nairobi Mombasa route but Coast Bus has remained for many decades and still going strong. I hope Kenya Grange will survive. Unless I am wrong, this are the dealers of SCANIA in Kenya and were affiliated or associated with Akamba. Not for very long I can tell you. Already we have Modern Coast and Coast Bus, i.e two different companise splitting from the old Coast Line Safaris that we knew in the eighties, nineties and early 2000. Family busineses will always have a problem if the key managers remain family members...Of course survival also has to do with going with the times. Akamba for a very long time (starting in early 1990s) had a discriminatory practice where the best buses would be offered on the Kisumu, Kampala and Kakamega routes. They gave up on the Mombasa route where majority of travellers do not tolerate poor services, especially when there are many substitutes. Travellers to other places would be put in very old buses. In recent times, a driver told me that the buses they used on some routes were more of cargo trucks than buses and on those routes, cargo was more valued than the passenger service. Most of the buses with the "Hakuna Matata" signage fell under these catergory. For the last 12 years, Akamba has been surviving on the name because their niche market was invaded by a dynamic Easy Coach, which relies on a smaller capacity all-Mitsubishi fleet. The buses have courteous staff, keep time and will travel whether fully booked or not - I have seen a Siaya bound bus leave with just five passengers on board. The collapse of Akamba was just a matter of time and the wiser employees ran while they could. There's a Turkish company running a premium service on the NBO - MBO route and operting from Ngong Road. I think its called Horizon Bus - but what makes me wonder is why they insist on shipping in second hand buses. These companies hold more promise for the long distance traveller who is concerned about safety and personal dignity. Unfortunately they are foreign. There are good examples in the world like the Stagecoach and the Grey Hound but the value systems and regulatory environment in these places is very different from Kenya's. @Chiaroscuro, don't try to compare bus companies with those contraptions that pick passengers from that dirty Machakos Bus stage.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/2/2012 Posts: 1,134 Location: Nairobi
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Spend.thrift wrote:
Not for very long I can tell you. Already we have Modern Coast and Coast Bus, i.e two different companise splitting from the old Coast Line Safaris that we knew in the eighties, nineties and early 2000. Family busineses will always have a problem if the key managers remain family members...Of course survival also has to do with going with the times. Akamba for a very long time (starting in early 1990s) had a discriminatory practice where the best buses would be offered on the Kisumu, Kampala and Kakamega routes. They gave up on the Mombasa route where majority of travellers do not tolerate poor services, especially when there are many substitutes.
Travellers to other places would be put in very old buses. In recent times, a driver told me that the buses they used on some routes were more of cargo trucks than buses and on those routes, cargo was more valued than the passenger service. Most of the buses with the "Hakuna Matata" signage fell under these catergory.
For the last 12 years, Akamba has been surviving on the name because their niche market was invaded by a dynamic Easy Coach, which relies on a smaller capacity all-Mitsubishi fleet. The buses have courteous staff, keep time and will travel whether fully booked or not - I have seen a Siaya bound bus leave with just five passengers on board.
The collapse of Akamba was just a matter of time and the wiser employees ran while they could.
There's a Turkish company running a premium service on the NBO - MBO route and operting from Ngong Road. I think its called Horizon Bus - but what makes me wonder is why they insist on shipping in second hand buses. These companies hold more promise for the long distance traveller who is concerned about safety and personal dignity. Unfortunately they are foreign.
There are good examples in the world like the Stagecoach and the Grey Hound but the value systems and regulatory environment in these places is very different from Kenya's.
@Chiaroscuro, don't try to compare bus companies with those contraptions that pick passengers from that dirty Machakos Bus stage. Modern Cost is a big joke! My friend boarded their bus recently and traveled in bed-bug infested bus. Imagine scratching yourself for a 10hr, 500km journey! Horizon is another "Coastair" wannabe. I have used then twice. First time, the bus leaked steering fluid. When we got to Mtito, the drive did not know where to pour the liquid - he called the workshop for advice. I heard him on the phone asking "Ni weke kwa haka kamtungi kekundu?"!!!! On the second trip, the bus was dilapidated, the DVD wasn't working, so we listened to KISS-FM all the way top Machakos junction. After that, it was silence up to Maji ya Chumvi when we picked one of the Mombasa local FM stations. Very boring for a day-time trip. Coastair has never disappointed. Though the last time I was on a trip to Msa with them was October last year [2011]. I predict that Modern Coast will fall by the wayside in a few year's time. Their slogan can tell you why: "We lead the leaders". It is borrowed from Coast Bus' "We Lead, Others Follow". Which, I believe, is a powerful mission statement.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 9/19/2011 Posts: 1,694
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chiaroscuro wrote:
Modern Cost is a big joke! My friend boarded their bus recently and traveled in bed-bug infested bus. Imagine scratching yourself for a 10hr, 500km journey!
I believe its all a matter of opinion, i used Modern Coast not so long ago and the services were perfect! I enjoyed the whole trip, this was my third time and i prefer them any day over Coast bus
“People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and if you repeat it frequently enough, people will sooner or later believe it.” ― Walter C. Langer
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/20/2007 Posts: 4,432
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The day we shall get a bus service as organised as greyhound, then tutakuwa vision 2030. It's all about time. Coast bus is as close as it gets. If they iron out time then the other issues like bed bugs will sort themselves out. The first bus to crack time in Kenya will win. Probably why I also like easy coach. For those old enough like me, do you remember the days when KBS would leave bus station at a certain time? Jose: If I make it through this thug life, I'll see you one day. The Lord is the only way to stop the hurt.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/2/2009 Posts: 26,328 Location: Masada
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alma wrote:The day we shall get a bus service as organised as greyhound, then tutakuwa vision 2030.
It's all about time. Coast bus is as close as it gets. If they iron out time then the other issues like bed bugs will sort themselves out. The first bus to crack time in Kenya will win. Probably why I also like easy coach.
For those old enough like me, do you remember the days when KBS would leave bus station at a certain time? And then came the days of the Metro Bus Service (of KBS) where the ticket you paid from shags in ant KBS bus will take you to any Citeh destination? Wow, good times are gone. I used that ticket to travel to Dandora for the first time and back to community with the same ticket.I dint alight at Dandora, just wanted to see this famous settlement in the Citeh. And lest you forget we were under M-Ohh-ONE gaament! The Baks gaament can only give us the shiety hoppers.  Portfolio: Sold
You know you've made it when you get a parking space for your yatcht.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 7/20/2007 Posts: 4,432
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True true impunity! I'm one who believes that Kenya has retrogressed rather than progressed under Kibaki. The buses and transport system failure is glaring. If you were a student you paid half price. If I was going to Estleigh, I knew the number 9 bus left at exactly 4:15 pm and stopped and St. Teresas at 5:15 am. Now the transport system country is just chaos. We would need 7 michukis to save us. Jose: If I make it through this thug life, I'll see you one day. The Lord is the only way to stop the hurt.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 9/19/2011 Posts: 1,694
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 9/19/2011 Posts: 1,694
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Before we heap blame on Baks for the "collapse" of the transport industry as some put it, it would be prudent to find out why industry giants like KBS collapsed.. In 1991, Stagecoach International of Britain bought a 75% UTOS stake in KBS and changed its name to
Stagecoach - Kenya Bus. By 1998 after 7 years of operations, where Stagecoach experienced heavy losses as a
result of unfair and wasteful competition from the Para-transit Sector - a charged political climate where several
buses were burned with no compensation from the government, high inflation and interest rates, devaluation of the
Kenya Shilling; coupled with effects of the Elnino rains - it sold 95% of its shares to a group of Local Investors
who renamed it Kenya Bus Services Ltd. CCN had lost its 20% shares to Stagecoach through an equity rights issue
and therefore eroding public sector participation in PRPT. The non renewal of the franchise by CCN spelt doom
for Stagecoach and indeed PRPT.
The introductions of the commuter train in Nairobi that carried passengers from KBS strong holds with predatory
fare structures (since the operator Kenya Railways was then being subsidized by the government) also dealt KBS a
serious blow.
With over 70 years’ of successful operations in a deregulated Para – transit dominated contestable market, KBS
was subjected to Legal Notice No. 161 of 2003 which among other things prohibited the carrying of standing
passengers, introduced seat belts, speed governors and a new colour uniform for road crew on commuter buses.
These requirements put heavy strains on the company cash flow leading to creditor’s debt built-up. It will be noted
that prior to the introduction of these rules KBS serviced its operations through the fare box with some degree of
success though it could not fund new rolling stock for commuter services due to an unhealthy rolling stock
financing regime and an unpredictable investment climate.
The collapse of Kenya National Assurance meant that KBS had to shoulder all claims the insurer could have paid.
The speedy processing of unstructured insurance claims cases by courts from 2002, for a company that had
unfortunately perpetuated a Stagecoach type high deductible insurance regime (self insurance), meant that the
settlement rate could not march the dwindling fare box revenues. This led to court actions that resulted in the
auctioneering activities where KBS vehicles were attached and sold hence bring to an end an era of organized
mass public transport; but leaving behind a nostalgic local strong brand name – KBS - that was for decades
synonymous with organized PRPT in Nairobi.LINK
“People will believe a big lie sooner than a little one, and if you repeat it frequently enough, people will sooner or later believe it.” ― Walter C. Langer
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Rank: Elder Joined: 11/15/2011 Posts: 4,518
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MM director during an interview on TV said her vision is to see double MM's go countrywide and regional. The worst buses on our roads are hoppas and some shuttles. Old, rickety,dirty,and ruggedy. "The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
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Rank: Member Joined: 3/24/2010 Posts: 677 Location: Nairobi
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Kratos wrote:chiaroscuro wrote:
Modern Cost is a big joke! My friend boarded their bus recently and traveled in bed-bug infested bus. Imagine scratching yourself for a 10hr, 500km journey!
I believe its all a matter of opinion, i used Modern Coast not so long ago and the services were perfect! I enjoyed the whole trip, this was my third time and i prefer them any day over Coast bus Opinion or not, I can confidently tell you modern coast will fall. I am a frequent user and have been for the past 1and half years and I can tell you it is slowly but surely going to the dogs. The service& condition of the buses is getting dilipidated by the day. But is that not the Kenyan way of doing things? Get the customer by treating them as king but after that.....well another story.Thats why I have 2agree and say coast bus has had some form of consistency.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/2/2012 Posts: 1,134 Location: Nairobi
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essyk wrote:MM director during an interview on TV said her vision is to see double MM's go countrywide and regional.
The worst buses on our roads are hoppas and some shuttles.
Old, rickety,dirty,and ruggedy. Citi Hoppa was great when Thuo was running the show. Then he left management under his wife while he concentrated on politics...and things started going down...down...down... Remember also that he was behind the revival of KBS after Stagecoach left in a huff... Metro Shuttles, Upcountry services and the interchangeable tickets that could get you from Homa Bay to Dandora.... all these were his ideas. But as we all know, politics and business never mix!
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/20/2010 Posts: 412 Location: nairobi
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@chiaroscuro, Mr Thuo was one of them that brought KBS to its knees so that he could buy it. Remember while at the helm of KBS and kbs had buses plying upcountry routes, he introduced his own fleets by the name 'dolphin coaches'. That was pure conflict of interest and was one of the strategies to kill KBS. The only time you should be looking down on others is when you are helping them up.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 3/2/2009 Posts: 26,328 Location: Masada
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mmarto wrote:@chiaroscuro, Mr Thuo was one of them that brought KBS to its knees so that he could buy it. Remember while at the helm of KBS and kbs had buses plying upcountry routes, he introduced his own fleets by the name 'dolphin coaches'. That was pure conflict of interest and was one of the strategies to kill KBS. Ditto kabisa! Infact he (Thuo) even went ahead and used the corporate KBS color of light blue on his Dolphins! Pure conflict of interest;pure impunity. Portfolio: Sold
You know you've made it when you get a parking space for your yatcht.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 1/25/2012 Posts: 1,624 Location: Langley
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The sale of property belonging to the collapsed Akamba Public Road Services Company was called off midway yesterday, disappointing dozens of investors who had travelled to Nairobi for the auction. http://www.businessdaily...4/-/10op1js/-/index.htmlIf you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
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