@Kimiri, do you have details on how the minibus sacco operates. Do they manage the car in terms of provide driver and conductor? How much can one expect from a sacco for a 33 seater? What is the experience of being in one?

@Tom_boy. Please note that nowadays you cannot be issued with a TLB license if you are not a member of a SACCO. There are a number of SACCO’s that will manage the vehicle for you but these are few. An example is Route 105 shuttle, although I am not sure they still do it. They also used to provide drivers and conductors. Net return from a 33 seater under such an arrangement used to be about 8K/daily. If you need more information, please let us do this on email. cheers

@Chaka and @Faa. It is Isuzu NPR. Total cost is 4M. This includes chassis, body building, registration, inspection. TLB and parking you pay yourself. NB: If you are financed by a bank, they will insist that you insure comprehensively. For the first year, the insurance cost is about 400K. Most banks will finance you to buy the insurance on condition that you make a down payment of 100K.

@ Kimiri so ROI period is at least 2 years or I got the maths wrong?

@Kimiri Thanx for info. Actually meant Return on Investment. Wld appreciate advise on loan financing if u cud drop me mail kaka2za at yahoo dot co dot uk.

@ Kimiri, tafadhali tuongee tomboy20atrocketmail.com

So, while I was away, the CS transport introduced new rules which, among other things, will bar individual ownership of matatus, instead preferring companies with at least 30 vehicles. How now?

Not a bad idea at all.

I also intend to purchase a mat and put it in a sacco,maybe 4NTE,North Rift e.t.c..

How much is the mat?

thanks.quite interesting, i must say.

I had planned for just 1.5m inclusive of everything.I didn't know that 200k fee to join a sacco.will inquire though.considering the returns are 80-90k per month...and assuming they are constant..within an year and half you should have cleared the loan...and the mat will defintely still be intact.

What about insurance ..did you get a comprehensive one?

The joining fee really differs. Unique shuttles (Nairobi-Meru) is 100k. However, the rule used to be that you cannot own a shuttle if you dont have a kawaida mat on the same. Someone has however told me that it no longer is the case. If its a normal mat on Embu- Nairobi route then you may pay sth small to join the sacco or a small fee to carry from their shimo. Of course it is a better option but chances of enriching the driver/Conductor at your expense are equally high. I have a full time job so I dont want a headache. The reason for pursuing the Embu route is that I work in Embu but my family is in Nai so im on the road every weekend. I am getting a loan 0f 1.2M but from our chama. Interest rate is 10% per annum. Its a chama of 6 guys. I am able to keep aside 50k from my salo from jan next year. My gameplan is to finish paying the loan within one year, and Take another loan of around 2.5 to put up the ground floor for some bed-sitters. It a risk but I think im upto the challenge. The guys who charge the travellers at the stage tell me the shuttles do at least 2 trips every day. 4k everyday is the figure im working with. 350bob X 11passengers X 2 trips. May be lower of course. I will however post the progress report on this same thread. Plus the photos. Everyone tells me the driver will make me or break me. So in that regard im planning on poaching one from the kawaida mats. One who has stayed with the mat for long, and it is in great shape and drives well. In the spirit of wazua I will post my findings