Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai (right) and Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore in a matatu during the launch of the Vuma product recently. Photo/Diana Ngila
Getting airtime play on television and radio stations has always been a big challenge for budding local musicians. However, the matatu industry and entertainment joints such as Florida 2000 have provided an alternative platform to such artistes thereby enabling them to popularise their songs.
Telecommunication sector operators have embraced this platform and are now turning to matatus and social entertainment joints targeting youths with their wireless Internet connectivity commonly referred to as Wi-fi.
Safaricom is the latest entrant with the launch of its matatu Wi-Fi Internet connectivity, dubbed Vuma, last Friday. Vuma follows in the footsteps of Wananchi Group and Google who early this year jointly launched a similar initiative focusing on restaurants.
Matatu’s with Wi-Fi connectivity operate on Buru Buru, Lang’ata, Rongai, Umoja, Githurai, Dandora, Kiambu and Kenyatta University routes, giving customers an opportunity to remain connected to the Internet without using their bundles.
Select buses on the Nairobi- Mombasa route will also offer the Wi-Fi service.
“A total of 46 PSV vehicles have already been fitted with free Wi-Fi transmitters in a Sh7 million initiative that is aimed at boosting the number of people who access the Internet for information, education and communication,” said Peter Arina, Safaricom’s general manager in charge of the Consumer Business Unit.
The telecommunication firm intends to attract commuters and patrons of social spots, particularly the youth, to its huge investment in infrastructure which is currently under utilised.
At the moment only six per cent of the national Internet capacity of 8,400 gigabites is in use. With 1,439 3G base stations Safaricom accounts for more than 50 per cent of all Internet connections in the country.
Last year, data accounted for more than 23 per cent of the telecommunications firm’s revenue earned from its 4.6 million customers.
Safaricom is targeting to fit more than 200 matatu’s with Wi-Fi connection before September.
Unlike the Wananchi and Google Wi-Fi Internet connection platform dubbed Wazi, Safaricom does not charge clients. Wazi has several affordable payment options ranging from mobile money to credit and debit cards.
There are three options to use the service: a daily pass at Sh50 and a monthly service that costs Sh500.
Wazi users can connect to a free 10-minute option which allows them to connect a single device per day and experience the service, if satisfied they can choose their preferred payment option and continue using the service.
Safaricom’s service, on other hand, is free to individual users but PSV operators are offered discounted bundles.
“This is a very exciting phase for the PSV sector. We have a lot of innovations put into buses and matatu’s over the years but this is a major milestone,” said Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai during the launch of the service.
Evolving
“With over 300,000 Kenyans using public transport every day, we believe that having Wi-Fi in PCV’s will go a long way in making our passengers commute worthwhile,” he said.
The matatu industry has been evolving over time and has previously been associated with graffiti and loud music. But in the last few years investors in the sector turned to installing video screens in the vehicles which saw them clash with traffic police and the law.
Telecommunications operators’ entry into the sector, through Internet connection and a ticketing technology that allows passengers to pay their fares using Near- Field Communication (NFC), marks a new era for the industry.
NFC allows a smartphone to communicate with other devices via short-range radio transmissions.
Google has partnered with Equity Bank to roll out the initiative. Cards will be available free of charge from Equity Bank service agents, where they can also be loaded with money.
The cards can also be reloaded with cash through the bank’s mobile banking platform, without incurring additional cost, or through M-Pesa Paybill.
Users will swipe the pre-paid cards against android-based smartphones that will be given to public transport customer attendants.
