Another showdown is looming after the Nairobi Metropolitan Services announced that Matatus would be kicked out of the CBD by December 1.
NMS has already designated Green Park and Desai road terminus as the termination point for matatus plying major city routes.
Currently, NMS is rushing against time to ensure the Green Park bus terminus is ready to accommodate PSVs playing Ngong and Lang’ata roads.
At the Desai road terminus in Ngara, work is almost complete. Once completed, the terminal will serve Matatus from Waiyaki way, Uhuru highway, Kipande, and Limuru roads.
However, it is not clear where matatu’s from Thika road will terminate their journey.
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Previously, there has been a showdown between PSV operators and the county over decongesting the city.
“The reason why the previous plans by the government never worked was because we were never involved, they would just wake up on a random morning and say no PSV will enter the CBD, and we had to comply,” Kushian Muchiri, the Chairman, Matatu and Boda Boda operators said
However, some bus terminus is not ready for the decongestion. For example, the Muthurwa terminus is still in its state.
The terminus is known for its insecurity and traffic snarl-up. Furthermore, the terminus is the parking lot for hundreds of carts. NMS is yet to release a directive on how to handle the cart’s issue.
Notably, Muthurwa terminus can only accommodate about 300 buses. However, Jogoo Road matatus are currently at 10,000.
This is not the first time the county has tried decongesting the city. In 2018, a similar attempt led to chaos within the city.
Questions were raised after CBD roads experienced hours of traffic snarl-ups. The county was accused of banning the wrong vehicles from the city center.
