Passengers travelling from Nanyuki town to various regions in the country were stranded Wednesday following a matatu strike.
A spot check by KNA established that several public vehicle booking offices were closed with minimal activity in the ever-busy Nanyuki stage matatu terminus. The situation adversely affected traders whose livelihoods depend on hawking goods to passengers.
Peter Kariuki, one of the Datima sacco drivers, said that the re-testing of Public Service Vehicles (PSV) by the government was a move that needed to be considered to prevent affecting the matatu industry.
Rahab Wangu, a passenger travelling to Nairobi for a business trip, said that with the matatu impasse, her business, which she depended on to support her family, was severely affected.
“If these vehicles don’t get to Nairobi, our business will have been affected, and those who depend on us will suffer. I urge the government to intervene,” she appealed.
Ms. Mercy Kariuki said that she had to shelve her plan of going to Nairobi until normalcy would resume and at the same time decried that fare charges were exorbitant.
David Ngatia, a Nanyuki stage attendant, appealed to the government to lower the cost of fuel, noting it was negatively affecting their business with a huge chunk of their profit going to fueling their vehicles.
The Long Distance Drivers and Conductors Association (LoDDCA) had warned that they would halt their operation to compel the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to withdraw mandatory re-testing of drivers, allegedly to avert road carnage in the country.
NTSA kicked off the drivers’ re-testing exercise on June 9, 2023, which has seen at least 1,847 PSV drivers and conductors undergo the exercise.
The government has pushed the driver r-etesting exercise to September 1, 2023.
By Muturi Mwangi
