Commuters plying the Lodwar- Kitale route were on Thursday stranded after the police seized Public transport vehicles that failed to meet Covid 19 safety guidelines.
Most of the vehicles plying the route were impounded for flouting the guidelines while other operators opted to stay off the road during the crackdown leading to a transport paralysis fpr the better part of the day.
County police commander Samuel Ndanyi said two buses; one belonging to Eldoret express company and another dubbed Mwanake express were held at Kainuk, Turkana south sub county for violating the traffic guidelines.
“The two buses were travelling past the 9pm deadline. The drivers of the two vehicles will be arraigned in court to answer charges,” said Ndanyi.
Ndanyi said the police officers had sensitized members of the public before they began the operation.
“Those who observe the new guidelines will be allowed to operate without interruptions,” said Ndanyi.
In Lodwar several motorists were forced to cut short their journeys as they rushed to meet the new guidelines.
They include social distancing in the vehicle between the seats, hand sanitizers on board, surgical masks for the crew, functional thermos guns, hand washing facilities available at SACCO ticket booking office, physical distancing of 1.5M at the SACCO ticket booking office, openable windows in the office.
Other requirements include incident register, passenger manifest, emergency contact 719 prominently displayed, waste bin with a liner properly fixed, drivers contact address prominently displayed and daily disinfection log on board signed by the driver and counter signed by SACCO official at the origin of the trip.
By Peter Gitonga
