Matatus' mad rush to comply with Michuki rules
What you need to know:
- Seatbelts cost on average Sh1,500 each, while the cost of installation varies according to one’s pocket.
- A matatu owner can pay between Sh200 and Sh400 per seat to install seatbelts.
As the police crackdown on traffic offenders entered its second day, matatu operators scrambled to nearby garages to ensure their vehicles were up to code.
Public service vehicles (PSVs) that had yet to adhere to the Traffic Act, 2013, were kept off the roads yesterday as arrests of those flouting the law continued countrywide.
On Waiyaki Way in Nairobi, at the junction from Kangemi to Loresho, a garage owner specialising in painting is making a killing. Mr Eric Oduor and his colleague Alfred Otieno had about 30 vehicles waiting for their services.
Vehicles with a capacity of less than 26 passengers are required to have a continuous yellow line running round them. Mr Oduor charges approximately Sh2,000 per vehicle for this service.
“We do not have a specific price for the job we do. It depends on how well a person can bargain. Quite honestly, I’m overcharging them at this point because they have to get back to work quickly. I’m taking full advantage of the situation,” Mr Oduor said, laughing.
'CHARGES'
He was painting a KMO Sacco bus, and said he would charge Sh50,000.
In Ngara, Nairobi, the narrative is the same among the jua kali garage owners who are fixing seatbelts.
Seatbelts cost on average Sh1,500 each, while the cost of installation varies according to one’s pocket. A matatu owner can pay between Sh200 and Sh400 per seat to install seatbelts.
Apart from the continuous yellow line, drivers, conductors and passengers are expected to wear seatbelts while the vehicle is in motion.
Other requirements include fitting vehicles with speed limiters. Only licensed people will be allowed to drive or act as a conductor of a PSV.
Drivers and conductors are expected to wear special badges, be in uniform at all times while on the road and have their photographs prominently displayed on the vehicles.
Commuters are expected to board and alight at designated bus stops.
Other offences include driving a vehicle on a footpath, failure of a vehicle to carry warning signs (lifesavers), driving or operating a PSV with tinted windows or windscreen, failure of a PSV to carry functional fire extinguishers and fire kits and obstructing other motorists.
