Voi

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Voi
Town
Voi town centre.
Voi Location in Kenya
Coordinates: 03°23′26″S 38°34′37″E / 3.39056°S 38.57694°E / -3.39056; 38.57694
Country	Kenya
County	Taita-Taveta County
Location	Voi Location
Town	1932
Elevation [1]	580 m (1,900 ft)
Population  (2009)[2]
• Town	45,483
• Urban	17,152
• Rural	28,331
Time zone	UTC+3 (EAT)

Voi is the largest town in Taita-Taveta County, Kenya, situated in the former Coast Province. It is located at the western edge of the Taru Desert, south and west of the Tsavo East National Park, with the Sagala Hills to the south.

Voi serves as a marketplace for agricultural and meat products from the fertile Taita Hills as well as the surrounding areas.^[1] The town centre consists mainly of general stores, shops, markets, kiosks and hotels. Most lodges that service tourists for the national parks are located in the suburbs at the edge of town. The Voi Sisal Estates are located to the west of the town.

Voi existed before the arrival of the Portuguese, Arabs and other visitors at the Kenyan Coast [disputed ... see talk section. Also, the "Kenya Coast" did not conceptually exist prior to 1920 and at the time of Voi's origin much of the "Kenya Coast" (BEA Protectorate) was on 'loan' from Zanzibar]. However, some citations have it that the town started to grow at the end of the 19th century when the Uganda Railway was constructed. People started to move in to work on the railway and the nearby sisal estates.^[3] However, township status with an area of about 16.27 square kilometres (6.28 sq mi)^[4] was not granted until 1932. The town has long since outgrown the original grant.^[1]

Voi has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh).

Voi has two railway stations. The first and oldest station, lies on the Kenya-Uganda Railway which was built by the British between 1895 and 1901 linking the port of Mombasa with Uganda. This station also forms the junction between the main line and a smaller, now abandoned line to Taveta at the Tanzania border. The second, newer, railway station serves the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway. Passenger trains on the newer railway line have four daily stopovers in Voi (two either way). Passenger services on the old, British-built railway ceased in May 2017^[6] but freight trains continue running on that line.

Taxis are available in the town centre with fares negotiated rather than regulated. They service various routes mainly to residential estates such as Mwakingali, Ikanga, Sikujua, Mabomani, Birikani, Sofia, Kaloleni, Tanzania, Msinga, Kariakoo, Msambweni and Mazeras.

Matatus (Minibus/Sharetaxis) operate between the town centre and surrounding areas. There are also matatus traveling to Mombasa, taita hills, Wundanyi, Taveta, Kasighau, Mbololo and other places. Their routes are regulated by SACCOs such as TATAMA, 2TS and Wumeri.

Several bus companies, including Coast bus, Simba coach,dreamliner Tahmeed and Mash offer day and night services to various parts of Kenya. Voi has a bus park for ticket purchases.

The Ikanga Air Strip is nearby and is under construction by the Kenya Airports Authority.

Other forms of transport include three-wheeler auto rickshaws (tuk tuks) and motorcycle taxis (boda boda) which operate 24/7 and are very cheap.

Voi Municipality is divided into six wards: Marungu, Sagalla, Mbololo, Kaloleni, Ngolia, and Kasigau.

Each ward elects one Member of the County Assembly (MCA) who represents them in the County Assembly for 5-year term.

Internet services are available through several internet cafes in town and there is 4G mobile phone coverage in Voi and its surroundings.

Voi features as a setting for two levels of the first-person shooter Xbox 360 console game Halo 3. Halo 3 takes place late in the year 2552,^{[citation needed]} wherein Voi is depicted as formerly having been a heavily industrialized, sprawling city — vastly different from the real and present Voi. According to the backstory, the nearby city of Mombasa, renamed New Mombasa, has become a final port of call for spacefaring traffic. To take advantage of its fortuitous proximity to New Mombasa, Voi refocused its resources from agriculture and tourism to the more lucrative pursuit of heavy industry. This shift resulted in major expansion of the town, which eventually absorbed the surrounding towns of Gutini, Ikanga, and Mariwenyi. The geography of the area has also been altered in the fictional version of Voi. Global warming has caused massive flooding of plains around the city of New Mombasa. Rather than a catastrophe, authorities viewed this event as an opportunity, and excavated a channel leading far inland to Voi. As a result, Voi became an inland port city, subsidising road transport of cargo to New Mombasa.^{[citation needed]} By the time of the events in the game, Voi has been almost entirely destroyed by ruthless excavation by the Covenant, the invading extraterrestrial enemy of humanity. Only an extant sliver of warehouse complexes, which hints at the former existence of Voi, is encountered within the game. The Taita Hills to the west are also used extensively in other levels within the game. A subterranean military base, known as Crow's Nest, is located in one of the Taita hills, specifically Chawia hill, located between Mlegwa and Mwatate.