The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things, especially in our daily operations.
However much we would like to think that COVID-19 brought a lot of difficulties with having to put on masks wherever you go and spending money having to add sanitizers and masks in our monthly budget, we have to admit that the pandemic has helped us get rid of some annoying habits.
A good example of where the pandemic has been of help is traveling in matatus.
As a matatu passenger, there are different habits that other passengers or even the conductor may have that may make one regret their decision to board a matatu.
Here are some of the habits:
1. The leg spreaders
This is a habit most common with male passengers. Have you ever boarded a matatu and found the only remaining seat is next to a man who feels like he has a right to sit in the matatu like he is at home?
This means that even though you are paying the same amount of fare, you will have to sit uncomfortably. But now with the directives put in place with the Ministry of Health, you get to sit comfortably and enjoy the journey without having to deal with someone’s legs.
2. The overcrowding
Before the pandemic, matatu conductors, not all, used to overload passengers. Three seats sometimes accommodated four passengers and some passengers, maybe you were one of them, had to sit on wooden planks in the isle. But when the pandemic hit, all that changed.
Now, passengers get to sit with dignity and their money’s worth.
3. The sweat and invasion of personal space
Boarding a matatu in the evening can be quite hectic. That is the time when most people are getting off work and most of the time a day’s worth of work is equal to a day worth of sweat depending on the work a person does.
The problem is not the sweating, it is when you have to sit closely next to the person.
Worse yet are those who tend to overlap the seats, i.e those who have to place their shoulder on your side of the seat, if they are taller than you then it means what is on you then is their armpit.
These are just a few of the habits that the pandemic helped us get rid of. What positive change did the pandemic bring to you?
