With the curfew being lifted, the matatu industry is set to resume night travel. This means more business, especially for matatus that do long-distance travel.

It may, however, take some time for those plying routes within the Nairobi metropolitan to work the whole night.

The crew of one of the javs in the city, Bedrock, shared with us that they are now closing shop at 11pm, since people and businesses have not fully resumed the 24-hour economy despite the curfew being lifted.

At least not to the pre-Covid volumes yet. Moreover, with the directive that bars should still close at 7pm, the volumes might not be high enough as to warrant the matatu to do a full night run.  

Bedrock is a 33-seater matatu that has been plying the Umoja 35/60 route since June 2019.

The jav won the Best Matatu award in that year’s Nganya Awards, and has been going strong ever since.

Its paintwork as well as name pays homage to The Flintstones, the cartoon comedy that has intergenerational appeal.

Artistic impressions of the characters from the show as well as the lead character’s favourite saying ‘yabba dabba doo’ are painted all over the exterior of the matatu.

The mat has regular paintwork spruce-ups, but the crew chooses to maintain the theme as the series is still a favourite among many. The matatu has an impressive audio system.

Bedrock is manned by seven crewmembers, two drivers and five conductors, who work in shifts to ensure they offer passengers friendly and professional services.

Outstanding features: Bedrock’s audio system is immersive. It has a sound processor, 16 Pioneer midrange speakers, 4 Pioneer double coil woofers, and 6 sound boosters.

The sound system was done by Source Entertainment. It also has 11 viewing screens, which comprise one 55-inch main screen, four 40-inch smart screens, two 24-inch screens, two 17-inch VIP screens, and two 32 inch-hater screens.