Transport was paralysed on Tuesday afternoon in Kirinyaga County after matatu operators protested against a surge in the number of private vehicles operating as Public Service Vehicles (PSVs).
Addressing the press in Kutus town, the matatu operators accused private vehicle owners of allegedly flouting traffic regulations by ferrying passengers without requisite approval by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).
During the protests, which left tens of passengers stranded at several bus termini within the county, the PSV operators also faulted the county government for its reluctance to deal with the menace.
According to one of the PSV operators, John Nyaga, the use of private vehicles to carry passengers posed unfair competition, which he said significantly impacted their daily income.
"Today, we have decided to suspend our operations because the private vehicle operators decided to invade our sector and began ferrying passengers against the law," said Nyaga.
"I strongly believe the county government knows what is going on. This has resulted in unfair competition because we, as the PSV operators, are compliant while the private drivers are not," he added.
To further exacerbate the issue, the PSV operators revealed that most of the private vehicles were allegedly carrying excess passengers, which, according to them, risked the lives of travellers.
The PSV drivers, while expressing their outrage, pledged to continue protesting until Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru's administration resolves the matter.
In their defence, the private operators refuted the allegations, stating that they received the necessary approval from the relevant authorities before commencing their activities.
"All our vehicles have followed the required protocol. We have taken the vehicle for inspection, and we also have the PSV certificate just like them," said one of the private vehicle operators.
Meanwhile, the latest development comes against the backdrop of repeated warnings by the government against the use of privately owned vehicles to carry passengers.
For instance, last year, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who was at the time the Transport CS, banned private vehicles from being used as PSVs.
In his April 2024 speech, Murkomen ordered NTSA to impound all private vehicles found operating as PSVs. According to him, owners of vehicle models such as Probox, Voxy, Noah, and Sienta were the most common culprits.
Murkomen issued the directive following a surge in road fatalities, with data from the NTSA attributing the increase in road carnage to non-compliance and negligence among motorists.
