Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia has announced plans by the government to ban 14-seater matatus from Kenyan roads.
Macharia says the government has procured 11 commuter trains and 64 high-capacity buses as part of plans to phase out the 14-seater Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) in Nairobi.
The Cabinet Secretary says the trains and buses will arrive in Kenya before February 2019 and are part of continued efforts to decongest the Kenyan capital.
“Plans are underway for the implementation of integrated train and high-capacity bus transport system in Kenya,” Macharia says.
The government officials says the same will be done in other Kenyan cities including Mombasa and Kisumu and eventually in the entire country.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has already indicated it will not be renewing road service licences for 14-seater PSVs, a move that has attracted opposition from matatu operators.
Jimal Ibrahim, the chairman of the Association of Matatu Operators in Nairobi CBD says the government didn’t consult them while making the decision.
“I have more than 8000 14-seater matatus in my association and right now there is a lot of outcry that they are not renewing licenses. Even if there is a law that says you phase out 14 seaters, there is also a law that says you find a way of compensating these operators,” Jimal says.
“Meja (NTSA boss ) should borrow a leaf from other countries in the world like South Africa who ran the exercise smoothly, compensating operators. Clear policies should be laid out before the industry welcomes the decision. It is wrong the country is in crisis, where do they want us to take the vehicles,” he adds.
there goes the government…
there goes the government again oppressing those that elected them into office. Shame Shame shame!!!
Borrowed clothes never fit…
Borrowed clothes never fit well. Why ban them?just give them competition (if you can) until they are out of business. Why ban them even before you have the “integrated system” in place?
There need be proper integration of the existing services to the new infrastructure. This language of ban this, ban that, left and right without proper consultation shows lack of appreciation of the contribution the industry has made over the years. With or without these hushed-up changes wananchi remain to be the consumers and so do not give them shock-therapy in the process.
14 seaters are good for…
14 seaters are good for mwisho wa rami. What do you want people from those rural areas to use?
Guys we are talking about…
Guys we are talking about Nairobi first…then the other CITIES thereafter.
Waste of time and resources…
Waste of time and resources the industry in privatized GVT cannot run the PSV it is a competitive venture say am going to Nakuru 14 seater is preferred better than the big buses unless you introduce scheduled buses. seat down with investors kuna some Kenyans who have just taken loan to invest in 14 seater give like 10 years.. start by not allowing new 14 seater importation/ registration ..this project I guess started 5 years ago and failed. take file revisit and plan well…Ushago and some towns will do better with 14 seater. Still during specific times.
This is worse than communism…
This is worse than communism. Government grabbing and controlling common man’s bottom line.No jobs created by thee most inept gov and at the same time destroying citizens’ means of earning. Most successful cities are congested and it has never stopped them from continual growth. Adapt by improving the infrastructure. Are the trains and buses sufficient for the commerce needs?
This might be a move by one…
This might be a move by one of Kenyan tycoons to eliminate those handy Matatus from Kenyan roads so that he or she can replace them with the planned buses and harvest big controlling the public transportation system
Dealing with Kenyan cartels…
Dealing with Kenyan cartels is hard and Matatu association is one of them. But, this same cartel is a source of employment to many men. The thought of young jobless men with nothing else to do is scary and I hope this government has this in mind.
I think Clearing the City is…
I think Clearing the City is one way of Giving Nairobi a Good Name for Tourism and Foreign Investors. Ama?
There is nothing wrong with…
There is nothing wrong with taking care of our own first, that is providing jobs to the drivers, makangas who are likely to lose their jobs plus commuters who would either have to pay more or experience hardship moving from point a to b. I doubt tourism and shady ” foreign investors” aka Chinese hawkers would do any good to uplift those affected. As far as an attractive, organized city that Sonko wants- that will not add food to the table of the jobless.He can plant all the flowers he wants but bottom line is jobs jobs jobs.
I am starting to enjoy your…
I am starting to enjoy your comments devoid of misplaced punctuation, abrupt stops and starts, and screaming capital letters. I hope you keep it this way!
This is start if it is this…
This is start if it is this planned & coordinated or it is just using public money without plan . there is time to do the planning . Kenya bus service a government run company and this should be avoided we have seen other government companies/parastals i.e uchumi , mumias sugar Kenya national insurance etc. go the drain ( theft) failed why not involve private companies as well
The government doesn’t have…
The government doesn’t have to consult 14-seater ‘litter’ matatus. If you have 8000 14-seaters, sell them and buy a bus.
This is beginning to sound…
This is beginning to sound like a broken record….