Nairobi governor Mike Sonko’s new daily parking rate of Ksh200 has hit a hitch weeks after its introduction.
According to the Parking director Tom Tinega the new rates have decreased revenues at City Hall.
Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of personal vehicles which has led to traffic congestion and chaos as motorists scramble for the few available slots.
"We have not increased the spaces and remember even at Ksh300 we still had a scarcity of space so the new rates have decreased the revenues," he revealed.
Nairobi's parking revenue for the year 2018 to June, accounted for 18.6 percent of Nairobi’s Ksh10.1 billion earnings.
The director disclosed that the parking attendants have also had to deal with angry motorists owing to the lack of parking spaces.
“Some motorists are now parking on the yellow lines and there is a lot of chaos especially in the CBD,” he added.
However, Tinega noted that the city county was monitoring the situation to find possible ways of addressing the problem.
Sonko had previously remarked that the move to reduce the parking fees was aimed at attracting motorists who had been avoiding public parking, as well as, increasing revenue collection for the County Government.
According to reports, the Governor had delayed the rollout in fear of an increase in congestion but stated that the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system would help rectify the situation.
However, the BRT system’s rollout date hangs in the balance since Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) James Macharia disclosed that the project, valued at Ksh7 billion, will not be launched soon.
In 2014, former Governor Evans Kidero increased parking fees from Ksh140 to Ksh300, much to the dismay of drivers in the Kenya's capital.
