Boda Boda reforms deadline pushed to May

The government has extended the deadline for boda bodas to get training, licences, and protective gear in a bid to reduce carnage on Kenyan roads.

Interior PS Karanja Kibicho on Tuesday said the operators will be required to be compliant from May 1, 2019 following a four-month extension from February 1.

The PS said the extension followed a consultative meeting with stakeholders including, the Interior ministry, Transport ministry, the parliamentary caucus on transport and the National Transport and Safety Authority, to allow all boda boda operators to fully comply with the regulations.

LAW

Mr Kibicho, however, said that the operators will be expected to obey the law until then, carry only one passenger, and use mechanically sound motorcycles.

He also said that the Parliamentary caucus will also look into regulating the use of Toyota Probox and Sienta as public service vehicles.

Interior CS Fred Matiang'i, Transport CS James Macharia, and PS Esther Koimett attended the briefing.

In the recent past, the government has taken steps to place fast expanding boda boda industry under tight regulation to reduce crashes.

The motorcycle taxis have created thousands of jobs in urban and rural areas. They are a fast, efficient and relatively affordable mode of transport.

However, they have also been blamed for a rising number of crashes with some hospitals setting aside entire wards for motorcycle accident survivors.

Some boda bodas have also been linked to criminals while in other areas, they are themselves increasingly becoming the target of criminal attacks.

Last month, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia formed a task force to formulate policies to regulate boda boda transport.

The CS said the task force has 60 days to report to Interior and Transport ministries on the policy that will control the boda boda sector, which has an estimated 700,000 motorbikes.

The number is projected to hit a million by the end of this year.