This archive report was first published on 29 June 2021.
Published on June 29, 2021, the Eldoret Express was once the epitome of public transportation in Kenya, with its fleet of buses connecting Nairobi to Nyanza and Rift Valley. However, the company's fortunes have taken a drastic turn in recent years.
Today, the dozens of Eldoret Express buses lying at various yards tell a story of the pain of transport businesses in Kenya. One such yard is located in Juja, Kiambu County, where the Scania machines are parked too close to each other, making it almost impossible to penetrate the 450-metre perimeter field.
Broken window panes, rims with no tyres, worn out seats, old registration plates, dust, and cobwebs are the common denominators here. They are testament to the time the vehicles have laid here and also some assurance that they will never go back to the road. It is a graveyard for buses.
Despite their seemingly helpless state, the bus company's management is overprotective and tightly guards them from any uninvited persons' access. 'If my boss knew I had allowed you in, he would think I am selling you scrap metal. I would be in trouble,' the watchman at the Juja yard said.
The management, however, confirmed that it disposed of the vehicles after it became uneconomical to continue operating them, having been on the road for years. 'After functioning for some years, public service vehicles become uneconomical to operate. We dispose of about six vehicles every year,' said Mr. Joseph Nganga, the operations manager at the company.
According to Google Earth images, there were 56 buses occupying a 275m perimeter field at Juja yard, while 80 buses littered the 500-metre perimeter compound at the company's farm in Kiungani, Kitale in Trans Nzoia County. The company's death is attributed to the dynamic changes in the transport industry, with the introduction of long distance matatus leading to their irrelevance in the sector.
