Kenya Government
PSV Stakeholders' Consultative Meeting, Nairobi Kenya
Sustainable Transport Africa attended the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) Stakeholders' Consultative Meeting held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya which was presided over by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure, Eng. Michael Kamau on 8th October 2013.
The meeting was well attended by thousands of matatu (mini-bus) owners, and their representatives who discussed items that would revolutionize the transport sector, though some have already been used by fleets over the past decade.
The draft PSV regulations that were introduced included new key notable features that would indirectly improve safety, efficiency and security, a few are listed below:
- Mandatory cashless systems
- Permanent employees
- Tax auditing
- Timetables
- Outsourcing of driver test centres
- Outsourcing of the vehicle inspection centres
- Move away from single vehicle operators to fleets of 30 vehicles and above run by companies
- The reintroduction of standing passengers on city buses
This government initiative would be a great start in regulating PSV's in densely populated cities, though in less densely populated rural areas it would be a challenge. It would also be great to see gradual implementation of MRT, TDM and NMT.
The statements by the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and Infrastructure and the proposed draft PSV regulations presented at the PSV Stakeholders' meeting are made available for download here.