2016 ICT4D Conference

In cities across the developing world, semi-formal bus networks are critical to the local infrastructure and economy. Kenya's matatu industry is used by over 30% of the population and is valued at over $2 billion. Yet it is also a major cause of injury and death.

I will present on Echo Mobile's development and testing of SmartMatatu, a sensor-based system designed to align industry incentives, improving safety and profitability. The challenge in Kenya is that matatus are privately owned. Owners lease to drivers, but have no daily visibility into their behavior on the road. They then collect a daily fee, and drivers keep any daily earnings leftover, thereby incentivizing reckless driving to collect more fares. This threatens public safety and creates costs to owners and drivers in the form of fines, repairs, settlements, and reputational damage.

SmartMatatu provides transparency to this arrangement through a GSM-enabled sensor and a phone app that gives owners a real-time look at location, productivity, and safety; provides instant notifications when unsafe events occur; and allows mobile payments to drivers when safety improves. Working with a UC Berkeley team, Echo is conducting a RCT measuring the system's impact, collecting research data through SmartMatatu itself. In line with Echo's Day 2 talk on integrating interventions with evaluations, this project leverages new sensor tech to address a development problem, while seamlessly using that same technology to measure impact.