The rules require matatu crew to have specific uniform, wear identification tags and that public transport vehicles be fitted with safety belts, speed governors and a yellow strip to identify them from the rest of the motor vehicles.
But the federation of Public Transport operators contested the directive saying that they will only return to work after their grievances have been addressed. The government Monday announced an increase in rail transport frequencies to mitigate the crisis caused by striking public transport vehicles.
The directive came following rising cases of raod accidents in the East African country, with from the National Transport and Safety Authority NTSA showing that at least have people lost their lives between January and November this year. Other factors include speeding and drunken driving.
Last month, a road accident at Fort Ternan, Kericho involving a Kakamega-bound seater bus claimed the lives of more than 50 lives. The driver of the speeding bus is said to have lost control of the vehicle before rolling several times and landing in a ditch. On Sunday, a dawn accident killed two people and left 9 others seriously injured in Athi River, near the Kenyan capital Nairobi.
According to police, the accident involved a lorry and a bus belonging to Mash Poa Company, which was heading to Nairobi from Mombasa. This is not the first time Kenya is facing a public service crisis as the government and Public Transport operators have been at loggerheads over implementation of strict traffic rules. However, often, these crackdowns last a few weeks before normal routine resumes, largely blamed on low police motivation and corruption β where matatu operators bribe their way out, whenever their vehicles are impounded for violating traffic rules.
