Thousands left stranded after NTSA bans night travel

Hundreds of travellers were on Monday stranded as a transport hitch hit various parts of the country following Sunday’s ban on night bus travel by the National Transport and Safety Authority.

Bus companies and urban businesses — the latter which rely heavily on the labour stranded upcountry after the year-ender festivities — were left counting heavy losses as the shock directive took effect.

In various towns across the country, travellers who had made advance bookings were forced to spend cold nights inside stationary buses. Others were forced to return home and wait for the rush to ebb. Parents and students rushing back to school for the new term, which begins today, were the most affected.

The NTSA, whose decision has been termed as a futile and needlessly punitive knee-jerk reaction, said the ban, which restricts long-distance passenger service vehicles to travel between 6am and 7pm, was in response to the rising number of road accidents at night.

SAFETY

On Monday, NTSA director-general Francis Meja defended the ban as “well thought-out despite the inconveniences it had caused travellers and bus companies”.

“The decision was arrived at after careful consideration and discussions for public good and safety,” Mr Meja said in a statement.

But passenger service operators criticised the ban as retrogressive and ill-advised. Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) chairman Dickson Mbugua said it was a poorly thought-out unilateral decision that has no place in the 21st century.

“We are surprised that the agency could stoop that low,” said Mr Mbugua. “We think this is a unilateral decision that has no board blessings. Many PSV owners are struggling to repay their loans after a year distorted by politics, which has been costly to the business community. And how will those preparing to go back to school or places of work cope?”

The ban caused a major transport hitch in Western Kenya as hundreds of passengers spent the second day in the cold at bus stations.

In Kisumu, the town’s main bus park, which is usually crowded, had fewer vehicles by midday as most operators left early in the morning to beat the evening deadline by NTSA. The same happened in Kakamega town.

HIGHER FARES

Following the shortage of PSV vehicles, passengers paid significantly higher fares for the few available vehicles. For the 350 kilometres between Kisumu and Nairobi, buses charged between Sh2,000 and Sh2,800, up from the usual Sh1,000 to Sh1,500. Those doing the 800 kilometres to Mombasa paid Sh3,500, up from an average of Sh2,000.

Mr Milton Otieno, a father of three students in Nairobi, said he was not sure whether their journey to Nairobi would take off as the bus scheduled to ferry them had not arrived at the Kisumu station by 2pm Monday.

“We are stranded,” he said. “It is already past noon, which means we will have to wait until tomorrow morning to try our chances again.”

The Nation also established that buses bound for Mombasa from Kisumu are now spending the nights in Nairobi, Molo, Nakuru or Voi before resuming their journeys during the day.

At the OTC station in Nairobi, bus drivers and commuters told the Nation of a mad rush to beat the 7pm deadline on the road.

SPEEDING

Mr Dominic Seme, who said he is a driver, said the ban could also be counter-productive as some drivers were speeding during the day to make round trips and cash in on the travel frenzy.

Ms Anne Moraa, a food vendor at the station, said customer traffic had significantly reduced as most bus drivers are unavailable.

In the North Rift, most PSV operators suspended transport operations as early as midday to avoid penalties by the state agency. In Eldoret, they took advantage of the ban to hike fare, with charges to Nakuru rising to Sh800, up from Sh300, sparking off protests from the public. A North Rift Sacco attendant said they would close their offices by late afternoon.

For some saccos, like North Rift Shuttles, bookings were exhausted early in the day, forcing passengers to look for other alternatives.

“We might be forced to stay much longer since most vehicles have been booked for the next three days due to the restricted travel limits,” said Ms Mary Mungai, a traveller.

West Pokot governor John Lonyangapuo and senator Samuel Poghisio asked the government to expand roads as a long-term solution to ease traffic jams and reduce accidents.

“Some of these roads have not been expanded for a long time yet the number of vehicle keeps on increasing,” said Prof Lonyangapuo.

PERISHABLE GOODS

In Nakuru, businesses dealing in perishable goods incurred heavy losses as a result of the ban as some of them transport their wares at night using PSVs. Mr Canan Mwangi said he incurred a loss of Sh10,000 after his cabbages decayed on the way from Bungoma to Nairobi after an overnight stop-over in Nakuru.

Ms Martha Njeri, who transports tomatoes from her farm in Eldoret to Matuu, lost Sh15,000-worth of produce too.

“I could not unpack the tomatoes as I had already sent them to the bus station, where they stayed overnight,” she said.

Bus companies and stranded passengers in Mombasa asked the NTSA to shift the ban to long-distance trucks, which they said are to be blame for the frequent accidents that have claimed more than 200 lives in the past month alone.  

“Hundreds of passengers had to spend the night at Mariakani,” said Coast Bus director Adil Ijaz. “Does this make sense?

KNEE-JERK ACTION

‘‘How do you let passengers leave Mombasa only to go and sleep at Mariakani? Other passengers from Malaba had to sleep in Kericho!”

Senate minority leader Moses Wetang’ula, in a tweet, called for disbandment of the authority. “NTSA must be disbanded,” he posted. “You can’t run a 24-hour economy by curtailing workers’ travel. The world is on the move.”

His counterpart in the National Assembly, Mr John Mbadi, also dismissed the night travel ban as a knee-jerk reaction that will not address the challenges on  Kenyan roads in the last few months.

“The ban is not a solution. It is more of an emotional outburst that worsens the situation,” Mr Mbadi told the Nation, noting that what is needed is an honest enforcement agency that will implement traffic rules to the letter and spirit of the law.

“The law exists, and what is required is the will to enforce it. NTSA must ensure that drivers are not intoxicated or overworked. But this is not possible because our enforcement system has collapsed.”

 Reporting by Victor Otieno, Winnie Atieno, Silas Apollo, Brenda Gamonde, Oscar Kakai, Linet Amuli  Stella Cherono, Collins Omulo and Ibrahim Oruko.