By Edna Mwende
New matatus will now be required to register their vehicles under the 401 already existing matatu saccos in the country in new raft of measures by the Nairobi County government geared towards decongesting of the already stretched termini in the city.
In a news report by the Business Daily, Tom Tinega, Director of parking services said that new entrants will be required to join existing Saccos so as to utilise the already limited spaces and available termini. He added that the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) had already been notified on the decision.
The NTSA Director General Francis Meja however said they were yet receive the letter from County Government with Business Daily reporting that Mr Meja declined to comment on the matter until they receive the said letter.
“We have only seen it on social media. We will not comment until it is officially brought to our attention,” Mr Meja is quoted as having said in the Business Daily report.
Nairobi has over the years struggled to with its overstretched transport system with the County government having tried to rein in on the situation by gazetting 11 new termini and scrapping a dozen others in December last year.
The Business Daily additionally reports that the new directive is expected to slow down the entry of new matatus into the city’s multibillion-shilling industry and also hit City Hall’s collections from parking spaces with charges being Ksh10,000 for buses, Ksh8,000 for minibuses and Ksh5,000 for a 14-seater for the same period of time.
The decision to limit the number of registered matatu Saccos in an effort to decongest the city and its outskirts almost mirrors city hall’s decision to introduce the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system in an effort to support Nairobi’s rickety public commuter services industry while easing congestion in the city and its environs.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (Namata) has already mapped out lanes dedicated for the BRT buses on Thika Superhighway and other major roads in the city.
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