Gone are the days when city motorists had to tirelessly drive around looking for City Council parking agents in order to pay the fees or worse still, bribe them just to secure that perfect spot.
Nairobi City County has come up with a new revenue collection system that allows motorists to pay for their parking fees using a newly introduced shortcode (USSD).
The new system is synonymous with paying for different services which include, rent arrears, parking fee, land rates, single business permits, construction permits, and advertisements among other services.
It has also significantly reduced corruption by the county council officers and one can simply pay at the comfort of his/her seat.
In this article, we will guide you through the process of easily paying for your parking fees in Nairobi using this new system.
How to pay for parking in Nairobi
City Hall officially parted ways with JamboPay, the revenue payment platform operated by Webtribe, which was contracted to collect revenue on behalf of the county back in April 2014.
Webtribe’s contract expired on April 7, 2019, but the county entered into negotiations with the firm for a 30-day extension period to ensure a seamless transition to the internally managed system.
Below is a guideline on how to go about the new process.
How to pay for parking in Nairobi using USSD
Here are the steps.
1. Unlock your phone and Dial *235#
2. From the list of ePayments option, select option no. 1
3. Choose no. 1 for Daily parking
4. Insert your vehicle number plate
5. Select the location
6. Choose the category of vehicle, that is, private or commercial
7. Key no. 1 to proceed with the payment
8. Enter your M-Pesa PIN to complete the payment
9. You’ll receive a confirmation message
Note:
City motorists will reportedly have to fork out an additional Ksh25 when paying parking fees.
Ksh23 is deducted by M-PESA for facilitating the transaction, while Ksh2 is deducted as service charge.
How to pay for parking in Nairobi online
If you are not able to pay using the USSD method above, you can also pay online.
If your mobile phone can access internet services, here are the steps you should follow:
1. Allow data usage in your mobile phone or connect to a wifi connection if available.
2. Go to your browser and search for Nairobi County portal and click on self-service.
3. You can create an account or continue with the payments by clicking continue.
4. When creating an account, you will be required to provide the following details - Full name, Mobile number, Email address, and generate a password for future logins.
5. Click on parking and choose the service you need. That is daily, seasonal, topping up daily, penalty, off street parking or printing a receipt.
6. You will be required to provide the location, type of vehicle, registration number for the car and your mobile number.
7. A payment fee will appear for confirmation of payment.
8. Confirm and continue with the payments.
9. A pop-up message will appear on your phone, prompting you to input your M-PESA PIN.
Nairobi City Council parking rates
Nairobi county seasonal parking fees do not change whether the payments are monthly, weekly or annually.
A saloon car will cost Ksh 4,200 for daily payment. The one-off tickets go for 5,000. The price has been Ksh. 300 daily, which results in a monthly fee of Ksh, 6,300 much higher than the current season tickets.
The rates for public service vehicles are between Ksh 8000 and Ksh 10000 monthly. Lorries can pay as high as Ksh 20,000 monthly.
City Hall has about 12,000 parking slots.
Note: You will not pay any fees on Saturdays from 2.PM, Sunday and during public holidays is free.
Nairobi Parking offenses, rules, and regulations
Offenses
1. Placing a signpost or reserving a parking space without authority in the council.
2. Parking in a designated parking space without payment of fees
3. Parking on a pavement or on Council gardens.
4. Signaling guiding or directing a driver of a vehicle into or out of a parking place.
5. Using a parking space for advertising or business.
6. Interfering with writing or marking on a parking ticket.
7. Using parking space for advertisement or business.
8. Damaging a vehicle clamp, removing or attempting to remove the same.
9. Obstructing an officer in enforcing these by-laws.
10. Knocking down an electricity pole will lead to the owner paying for the restoration if the pole.
Rules and Regulations
1. Non-payment parking fee will lead to clamping and towing of the vehicle. Any vehicle clamped must pay clamping fees to the council.
2. Failure to pay towing fees and other expenses incurred by the council within 60 days, may lead to disposal of the vehicle through the public notice auction.
3. The parking ticket must be displayed on the front windscreen. Non-displays will mean non-payment of the same.
4. Parking attendants shall at all times put on a uniform, carry and have with them a proper identification badge issued by the council.
5. You need a council permit to run a commercial private parking place.
6. Vehicles must be parked within the space indicated by lines or any other mark provided by the council.
7. The council will not be responsible for damage or loss incurred during clamping or removal of the offending vehicle.
