Sonko revives plan to ban matatus from Nairobi CBD

Nairobi County Government has revived plans to enact a proposal that will see matatus banned from the central business district.

The move that intends to ease the traffic nightmare within the city center was shelved last year after protests from public service vehicles (PSV) operators.

” Vehicles come into the city centre at peak morning hours and stay there waiting for passengers. This creates traffic snarl up because they take up a lot of space and inconvenience private motorists,” Eng. Karanja Kamau said.

Matatu operators had faulted the county government saying the move would inconvenience millions of commuters who will now have to walk far to get a matatu or bus.

Last year, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko announced that over 30,000 public service vehicles would no longer be allowed access into the city but stop at 9 termini outside the CBD.

If the plan materialises, all matatus accessing the city centre from Waiyaki Way for example, will be required to stop at Murang’a road terminus.

PSVs that go past Kenol on the Nyeri-Meru-Nairobi road and all upcountry vehicles on Uhuru Highway will be expected to stop at Park Road terminus.

Other termini which have been listed included Hakati, Machakos and the Central Bus Station. However, this may present a challenge as as they were initially not designed to be parking bays.