Night ban drives buses to losses

Bus owners have accused Transport Cabinet Secretary Michael Kamau of using them as scapegoats for failing to prevent road accidents.

The Kenya Country Bus Association threatened to go court if the Cabinet Secretary failed to rescind the ban on night trips for long-distance public service vehicles, which they said was affecting their businesses.

The association’s chairman, Mr Paul Muthumbi, on Sunday said bus companies were likely to retrench more than 6,000 workers, mostly drivers and crew that operated at night. The ban had rendered them redundant, he said.

“The minister should come out and say what the causes of accidents on Kenyan roads are instead of blaming buses that operate at night, which is clearly not the case,” said Mr Muthumbi.

Bus companies had followed all the laid down procedures, employed competent drivers and were servicing their vehicles to ensure they were in good condition to carry passengers, he said at a media briefing.

Saying the ban on night travel was an ambush, Mr Muthumbi accused the government of sleeping on its job of ensuring that traffic police tamed rogue drivers and that roads were motorable and free of potholes.

VICTIMS

Bus drivers were sometimes victims of other rogue drivers on the road and some of the grisly accidents that have claimed several lives involving buses may have been caused by drivers of other vehicles, he said.

The government banned night bus journeys last month to curb accidents during the festive season.

However, during the Sunday briefing, the transporters urged the government to be “forthright” and tackle the real causes of accidents instead of concentrating on the long-distance buses.

Mr Muthumbi said there was a need to overhaul and reform the transport sector and merely targeting the buses would not solve the problem.

The companies had incurred losses of up to 50 per cent since the ban and may be forced to close their businesses as it would be difficult to service loans with fewer trips, the group said.

The association claimed traders who depended on the buses for their operations had been affected by the reduction of trips.

Following the ban, passengers on Sunday waited in long queues for day-time travel buses while others had to cancel travel plans as the number of travellers surpassed the available vehicles.