The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) will bar matatu touts from operating at the new termini set to be unveiled across the city.
NMS said that they will prohibit touting at the bus stations as commuters will use the newly unveiled app to track PSVs. The system will control the movement of matatus, displaying their number plate and destination on a screen.
Touts will not be allowed to rally and persuade commuters nor shout their destination aboard matatus. The youth, notorious for their indiscipline, will further not access the termini.
These groups, popularly known as Kamageras, usually charge touts between Ksh10 and Ksh20 per a fully packed bus.
At Green Park Terminus near Old Railways Club, one part will be a drop off with another section a pick-up area for commuters. The matatus will be monitored via CCTV cameras and will line up per Sacco and per route.
"The vehicles will operate under strict time management. We shall specify the amount of time a vehicle will use to drop passengers, its waiting and loading periods.
"Once they exit, another vehicle will be automatically called via a speaker and the app," Engineer Michael Ochieng' said.
Apart from using taxis and boda bodas as last-mile service operators, NMS said that pedestrians can use walkways while cyclists can travel to and from the CBD via cycle lanes.
The agency added that it will also build underground tunnels between the Green Park Terminus and the CBD which will be restricted to pedestrians.
NMS said that it found it difficult to construct footbridges across the city and opted for the tunnels which will be lit with floodlights. Police officers will also be deployed to offer security in the tunnels.
The officers will be stationed at the new police centre that is being constructed at the Green Park Terminus. On Tuesday, March 16, Engineer Michael Ochieng announced that they had completed 95 percent of the construction and that they would unveil the terminus in late March 2021.
The terminus will serve matatus plying Ngong Road and Lang'ata Road. Other termini include Fig Tree Terminus at Ngara, Bunyala and Workshop Road, Muthurwa Terminus and a proposed terminus at Globe Cinema Roundabout.
