A section of matatu owners have welcomed the proposal to introduce mass transport apps in the city.
The operators say it will improve public transport.
This follows reports that four technology companies; Egypt-based Swvl, Safari Express, Uber and Little Cab, were likely to launch app-based mass transport services in Nairobi as as early as March, this year.
“We have no problem with this as long as the facilities are open to all the PSVs with the same capacity,” Matatu Welfare Association chairman Dickson Mbugua said yesterday.
Mbugua was emphatic that the companies should promote buses only manufactured in Kenya.
“Buy Kenya- Build Kenya should be the clarion call to upscale Kenya’s economy as we also reduce the (number of) unemployed youth,” he added.
Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai supported the app, saying it will promote public transport and reduce personal vehicles on the road.
“Every public transport has its own class and people have their own preference also. So commuters will have freedom of choice. We know we have certain class of people who always rely on PSVs and so healthy competition is not bad at all,” he said.
“Their shuttles have no problem but the introduction of BRT buses is coming soon, so what will happen to them?” he asked.
Safari Express, through a post on their website, had stated that they are set to launch in Nairobi.
The company is said to be in their pilot phase and that it already has a few buses in the city.The buses have been plying certain routes, more so Thika Road.
Swvl is said to have transformed the transport system in various countries like Egypt, through the app.
The app will aim to transport customers at affordable prices, with fewer stops, while at the same time maintaining high quality and safety standards.
Nairobi is still waiting for the arrival bus rapid transit (BRT) buses.
Early this month, Transport CS James Macharia said the 64 buses will be arriving in the county by the end of the month.
“The government was planning to source the buses from South Africa after local fabricators of passenger service vehicle bodies failed to meet the required specifications,” he said.