New rules to keep matatu's out of CBD

Nairobi County has moved to ban all public service vehicles from accessing the Central Business District (CBD) in a drastic move that will see some 36 intercity routes that will only be allowed to wait for passengers for a maximum of 10 minutes in the city centre.

In one of its most drastic policies since the inception of its government in 2013, the county administration which has been accused of failing to deal with traffic congestion, has decided that commuters apart from those coming in from Mombasa Road and Ngong Road, will alight outside town, some as far as Westlands.

This is reminiscent of the early 2000s when a similar policy was attempted after construction of the Muthurwa bus terminus but the plan collapsed due to lack of enforcement.

In a gazette notice, County Public Secretary Robert Ayisi introduced two new City Centre routes that will ferry passengers around the CBD in high capacity buses.

The new rules also ban passengers travelling from up country from being dropped in the CBD.

Those coming from Western Kenya will alight in Ngara while those coming from north of Nairobi will be dropped on Murang’a road.

The Notice read: