The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has unveiled a plan to build another matatu terminus at the Globe Cinema City Roundabout.
The new terminus will occupy the piece of land close to the roundabout that has been acting as a holding zone for PSVs from Mt Kenya and the North Rift Regions.
In October 2020, Nairobi County Government announced that matatus currently using the Khoja/Old Mutual terminus would be relocated to the Globe City station.
NMS Director-General Mohamed Badi said that the Globe City terminus will also serve matatus plying Juja Road and Thika Superhighway.
He added that his agency had initiated the process of purchasing the land from the community. It was also in discussion with the Ministry of Lands on how the said owners would be compensated.
"The biggest issue was that the land was owned by different communities, so we had to negotiate with them. The communities have chosen different compensation schemes. thereby slowing down the process," Badi disclosed.
The terminus will be used to decongest Nairobi City, alongside six other termini which are already under construction. These are Green Park at Railways, Desai Park, Park Road, Fig Tree at Ngara, Muthurwa and the terminus at Bunyala and Workshop roads.
Green Park terminus at Railways club will host over 110 matatus plying Ngong Road and Lang'ata Road (Kawangware, Kikuyu, Kibera, Lang'ata, Rongai, Kiserian).
Fig Tree Terminus at Ngara expected to serve matatus from Waiyaki Way, Uhuru Highway, Kipande and Limuru roads.
A terminus at the junction of Bunyala and Workshop Road will host PSVs from Mombasa Road (South B, South C, Industrial Area, Imara Daima, Athi River, Kitengela, Machakos). The Muthurwa Terminus is expected to remain as it is and will host PSVs from Jogoo and Lusaka roads.
NMS, is, however, facing challenges in ensuring that the matatu CBD ban takes off. On Monday, January 11, matatu owners vowed to defy the exercise arguing that Badi had ulterior motives behind the plan. They argued that NMS kept on shifting and postponing dates which was confusing.
Badi's team, however, defended themselves saying that the plan was delayed as all termini were still under construction. NMS hopes to execute the exercise in mid-January 2021.
