Everyday that I take the dala dala, I fear for my life...ok well maybe that's an exaggeration BUT these dala dala driver's are kind of crazy!
They bust down the road, sometimes poorly paved, as fast as they can and then jerk to a halt when they have to let someone off or on. I don't think there's a speed limit and I don't think they ever look at their speedometers. In fact, the speedometers on some of the dala dala's don't even work. I noticed that yesterday when I was sitting in the front seat. I laughed out loud.
Then you have the money collectors on the dala dala. I don't really know what to call them, so I refer to them as the dala dala conductor. They hang off the back of the dala and yell out the name of the bus to get the attention of people on the street. Sometimes when we're waiting for the dala dala to fill up, the conductor will yell and hit the side of the dala dala several times in order to make even more noise to attract potential customers. The driver often leaves the vehicle running and will also add to the noise by revving the engine. What a waste of gas! plus my poor lungs have to inhale all the fumes. They also like to try and rip us off when we pay our fare because we're mzungus therefore they charge us "mzungu price". I don't let them get away with it. I demand for my change (in swahili I might add!) or else I just give him exact change of what I would normally pay every other time I take the dala dala. 
The dala dala conductors have to make a certain amount of money a day which they pay to the driver. Whatever money is leftover they get to keep for themselves. So it's beneficial for them to cram in as many people as they can into the vehicle. The comfort of the passengers is not a priority. Even when there's absolutely NO room, the conductor will still take people on and point out a tiny crack of space as being "lots" of room. That doesn't quite work if a bigger lady or man gets on the bus so we all end up pretty much sitting on each other in the end. All the kids sit on their mom or dad's lap. Otherwise they get passed down to other random people. Poor Tally had some guy's armpit in her face one ride. People also bring their big bags of potatoes or baskets of food into the dala dala which adds to more squishy-ness. If there's no room for their goods inside the vehicle, then it gets strapped down on top of the dala dala. During one ride, some guy needed to bring a desk home, so the conductor scampered up to the top of the dala dala and hoisted the desk up with the 10 bags of potatoes and piles of wood planks already on top. Even before the conductor has a chance to come down, the dala dala is already driving down the road! I'm just waiting for the day when the conductor will be thrown off the back of the bus.
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