Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has revealed a raft of new measures set to be introduced to all school vehicles to avert the increasing cases of accidents.
Speaking on Thursday, April 4, Murkomen noted that the Ministry of Transport is going to gazette new rules stipulating how school transport will be managed.
The new measures include fitting all school vehicles with vehicular telematics, a high technology that empowers owners to improve vehicle management, boost efficiency, track fleets, and prevent downtime.
The data is gathered using a telematics device (a black box) and fleet management software to make informed decisions.
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According to Murkomen, his Ministry is at an advanced stage of determining the right telematics that will be recommended for school vehicles.
"We would want accountability from our schools on how they manage their drivers, the vehicles and how they maintain them," Murkomen stated.
"I will be giving direction together with Education CS on how all schools will be required mandatorily to install vehicular telematics in the school buses. We will hope that the technology will be affordable for our schools," Murkomen added.
The new system will help the school administrations to monitor in real-time how the driver is operating and be able to make decisions when he is seen to risk the lives of students.
Furthermore, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) will digitise motor vehicle records and drivers' history to support digital enforcement and violation capture to streamline the transport sector and improve road safety.
The new reforms follow a series of road accidents involving school buses. The recent major case involved Kenyatta University bus which collided with a trailer leading to loss of lives.
