Plans to decongest Nairobi city centre have been revived, three years after a similar initiative failed.
This was part of the agenda during a meeting that brought together representatives from matatu Saccos, police, and county officials at Charter Hall, Nairobi.
In the closed-door meeting, other issues discussed included the number of matatu pick-up and drop-off points in the Central Business District.
“We usually meet to deliberate on some issues that the county governor is planning before they are implemented,” said John Kibe, one of the Sacco representatives.
He added, “One of the issues raised is the plan to decongest the city centre by removing some drop-off and pick-up points.”
Another Sacco manager explained that matatus would only be allowed to drop passengers at specific locations and exit the city centre within five minutes.
“Only one matatu from each Sacco will be allowed to pick passengers at a time. This will be another approach to eliminating pick-up points in the city centre, which are said to be causing congestion,” he said.
He added, “We have not been given a timeline because the traffic department and county are still working on a system to alert matatus outside the city centre to come and pick up passengers.”
Some matatu operators said that if the plans succeed, it will be a win for all stakeholders, insisting that further deliberations will be held before a final decision is made.
