Business at the Nyeri Bus Park was brought to a standstill after matatu operators staged protests to defy the County Government’s order to move to a new bus station.
In the Thursday, November 14, incident, the operators criticised the county government for issuing orders directing them to vacate for a new bus park without proper consultations with stakeholders.
According to the operators, all the matatu SACCOs using the old bus station from where they were supposed to relocate had not been informed of the plans.
''We are protesting because the government decided to try to forcibly relocate us from this place,’’ a matatu operator at the Nyeri bus park told the media.
The operators maintained that it was wrong for Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga to order them to move from the station without looking into key business considerations and challenges that the relocation would pose.
‘’We are asking the Governor not to come here and try destroying our businesses, we bought these vehicles using loans that we borrowed from banks,’’ he added.
''They should not just come in the morning and ask us to go, they should at least be organized and put in place the necessary strategy on how the relocation should be done,’’ urged the operator.
The operators blocked major ways leading in and out of the Nyeri Town using their vehicles causing heavy traffic disruption to other road users.
Passengers who had hoped to travel using the matatus and other means of transport were also inconvenienced as a result of the strike.
The operators, however, maintained that the decision to construct the new bus park was welcome, only that they were left out when key considerations were being made concerning the operation.
On Wednesday, traders at the new Kamukunji Market in Nyeri also held demonstrations urging the county government to fast-track the relocation of the main bus park to the new market as this would have been a boost to their business.
''Where we are currently operating from is way off from the town CBD and the main matatu stage, which handles quite a substantial number of potential customers,” Joseph Wanjohi a fruit vendor told KNA.
''This is a challenge as no one can walk from town to this place to buy something he or she can easily access within the town CBD,” he added.
