Reprieve for commuters as High Court suspends new traffic rules

Politics and policy

 

Commuters who used the train service leave the Nairobi Railway Station Tuesday after matatus kept off the roads to avoid being arrested for not complying with the new transport regulations. Photo/Jeff Angote 

By Gerald Andae and Anita Chepkoech

In Summary

• The case will be heard next week on Thursday when all the stakeholders are required to appear in court.
• The new guidelines require all public transport vehicles to operate under a Sacco that has a minimum of 30 vehicles.
• The vehicles must also be fitted with digital speed governors that have ability to track and record the speed.

 

Commuters have received a reprieve after the High Court suspended the enforcement of traffic regulations that left about 90,000 public service vehicles grounded on Tuesday.

Commuters were forced to walk long distances to work, school and other stations, with fares going up substantially.

“The court has issued a stay on the matter and we are waiting for further instructions that will be issued today,” said Dickson Mbugua, the chairman of the Matatu Welfare Association.

In the evening, some normalcy returned on the roads after the court order as Rift Valley Railways introduced an extra evening commuter train to Embakasi, Kahawa and Dagoreti routes. Normally, the train operates two trips every evening to these routes charging Sh40.

The case will be heard next week on Thursday when all the stakeholders are required to appear in court.

However, the director general of the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) Francis Meja said he had not been issued with the new directives by the time of going to press.

“I am not aware of the court ruling because so far I have not received any communication from the court,” said Mr Meja, adding that the authority would comply with the direction of the court. 

Mr Mbugua asked matatus owners to wait until the regulators are served with the court orders before taking their vehicles back on the road.

READ: Commuters stare at transport chaos ahead of new rules

NTSA said 12,000 vehicles had conformed with the regulations but the matatu association put the number at 8,000. There are 100,000 registered public transport vehicles countrywide.

The few vehicles that were on the roads Tuesday took advantage of the situation to overcharge stranded commuters, with passengers from Embakasi having to pay Sh200 to get to town from the usual Sh50.

The new guidelines require all public transport vehicles to operate under a Sacco that has a minimum of 30 vehicles. The vehicles must also be fitted with digital speed governors that have ability to track and record the speed.

Data from the devices would be retrieved in the event of an accident to establish whether it was caused by speeding, which has been the major cause of road accidents which claim more than 3,000 lives in a year.