Matatu Ban: NMS New Plan After Test Run Confusion
28 April 2021 - 10:47 am
Commuters alight at Green park Terminus after NMS conducted a test run on Tuesday, April 27, 2021
File
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has unveiled plans that will fix loopholes and shortcomings that were exposed when the agency conducted a test run of the matatu ban at Green Park Terminus.
On Tuesday, April 27 - NMS Transport and Public Works Director - Engineer Michael Ochieng stated that the test run had proven that the ban of matatu was a work in progress.
For three hours, all matatus operating at the Railways Bus Terminus were blocked from accessing the CBD and only picked and dropped passengers at Green Park stage near Uhuru Park. However, the drill created confusion among motorists and commuters and also caused a traffic snarl in the city.
THE STANDARD By
Mate Tongola |
April 1st 2021 at 12:46:03 GMT +0300
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga inspect the Green Park Bus Terminus, Nairobi. [PSCU]
President Uhuru Kenyatta has this morning toured various development projects in Nairobi County including the Green Park Bus Terminus at the Railways Club.
Uhuru who was accompanied by ODM leader Raila Odinga inspected the matatu terminus that was constructed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services, NMS.
During the impromptu tour that caught many unawares, Uhuru and Raila who were dressed casually were taken around the nearly half-finished park that has already been fitted with shades and eats for commuters to sit as they wait for their rides.
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This follows the announcement of tendering process for the restoration of the roads which have been categorised into different lots.
The roads include Garage Road, Homa Bay Road, Workshop Road, Pate Road, and Dar es Salaam Road as part of Lot 1 roads in the area.
Lot 2 include Busia and Kampala Roads, Lot 3, Gilgil, Bamburi, and Changamwe Roads while Lot 4 roads are Dakar, Funzi, Athi River and Addis Ababa Roads.
For Lot 5, the targeted roads are Catalysts Road, Machakos Road, Baricho road and Wundany Road while Lot 6 include Rangwe, Mareba, Hola, Lusingeti and Kitui Roads.
Migwani Road, Isiolo, Bandari, Wajir, Chogoria and Jirore Roads under Lot 7 are also targeted for rehabilitation the same as Butere, Yarrow, Bunyala and Factory Street under Lot 8.
Motorists on a Colossal Traffic Jam Along Busy Uhuru Highway in Nairobi
Simon Kiragu
Kenyans.co.ke
Public Transport stakeholders want the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) under General Mohamed Badi to double the parking fee of private vehicles rather than ban matatus in Nairobi CBD.
Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) chairperson Dickson Mbugua argued that private vehicles were the cause of congestion in the city. He lamented that the cars carried fewer passengers as compared to matatus. Increasing the parking fees from Ksh 200 to Ksh 400 will thus discourage private motorists from parking or driving their vehicles to CBD, Mbugua proposed.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) took over the collection of revenue from City Hall after former governor Mike Sonko signed the deed of transfer and shared power with the national government. KRA collects parking fees on behalf of NMS with motorists paying through unified payment short code (USSD) 647#.