Matatu Association condemn government’s decision to ban PSVs from Expressway

The Matatu Owners Association (MOA) has called out the government for prohibiting public service vehicles (PSVs) from accessing the Nairobi Expressway.

This comes after Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia early this week banned PSVs carrying more than seven passengers from using the Nairobi Expressway.

The association chairman Simon Kimutai described the action as discriminatory and prejudiced.

“It was very unfair for the government to ban matatus from using the expressway yet the sector is not to blame for all accidents. Let’s be fair and not blame matatus for every problem faced on roads,” Kimutai said.

The ban came following an accident involving an Embassava Sacco bus at the Mlolongo toll station.

The accident happened last Monday night barely one week after another one took place in the same spot that injured several people and took one life.

In both accidents, cars slammed into other cars in line as they raced toward the toll gate at the Mlolongo entry.

The accidents sparked questions about safety on the road, which was opened for testing last month.

Apart from the Embassava tragedy, the MOA chief explained to a local daily that the other accidents were brought on by individual automobiles.

The MOA chairman continued by saying that the old Waiyaki-Uhuru Highway-Mombasa Road was less congested as a result of matatus using the expressway, which improved traffic flow.

A Super Metro bus was also involved in an accident this week near Westlands, the entrance to the Nairobi Expressway.

Following the collision, the Super Metro Sacco management, whose 33-seater matatus travel across the capital, exonerated themselves of responsibility, claiming that another speeding car was to blame rather than their bus.