The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is in process of establishing new rules and regulations which would bring order and sanity in the boda boda sector.
The Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS), James Macharia said the ministry has formed a taskforce to come up with new regulations to manage boda boda operations in the country.
He noted that the taskforce has been given 60 days to establish policies and guidelines aimed to curtail flouting of traffic rules by the riders.
Speaking when he visited Kandara Sub county to monitor progress of KCSE, the CS observed that the number of bodaboda operators is growing on daily basis thus the need to come up with new regulations as the riders were known to operate with impunity.
“We a have almost 700, 0000 riders in the country and soon the number will grow to more than a million and that’s why we have come with a taskforce which will come up with rules and regulations to manage the sector,” Added Macharia after visiting Gaichanjiru Boys High School on Friday.
He said together with the Cabinet Secretary for Interior, they would sign a framework which would guide the taskforce which was expected to give back its report by early February next year.
“Boda boda are everywhere in our country and they are not exempted in the application of traffic rules. They must comply with regulations in an effort to minimize road accidents,” he further noted.
The CS further said the ongoing crackdown of vehicles which flout traffic rules and which don’t meet set requirements would continue as the government is committed to curbing road carnage which has led to loss of many lives in the country.
The government, Macharia said, is looking for alternative public transport apart from matatus, noting that they were currently working to revamp rail transport.
He divulged that next year, the ministry would increase routes of rail transport in Nairobi in effort to minimize traffic congestion and give people a cheap alternative mode of transport.
“We shall soon announce big investment in rail transport as we are geared to bringing in multiple units from abroad to augment what we currently have in promoting rail transport,” noted the CS.
Currently, about 12, 000 passengers in Nairobi rely on railway transport per day with the CS, saying they were targeting to increase the number to 132, 000 passengers daily.
Meanwhile, Macharia said the work of upgrading Kenol-Nanyuki road to a dual carriage was on progress, saying already, designs of the road were complete and advertisement for contract would be out soon.
He said the road would open up northern frontiers and promote business in northern part of the country, adding that after Nanyuki, the dual carriage would be extended to Isiolo.
By Bernard Munyao
