•Data from the Economic Survey 2021 showed that registration of new minibuses/matatus dropped by 43.9 per cent to 1,084 units in 2020 from 1,932 units in 2019.
•The low uptake of public transport vehicles(PSV) led to a 22.5 per cent decline in the number of PSV licenses issued declined by from 63,938 in 2019 to 49,560 in 2020.
Kenyans using PSVs should brace for tough times after operators announced they will slow down operations from Wednesday.
The operators under the umbrella Federation of Public Transport Sector on Monday said the compliance exercise which is in its fourth week has seen them lose Sh500 million to NTSA and traffic police.
They said the amount was not going to the government. The Star could not immediately verify their claims.
Their chairman, Edwins Mukabanah, said the rip-off has failed to stop even after engaging various stakeholders, including the Office of the President.
"We do not have a listening government," Mukabanah said.
"Two weeks ago, we engaged the director general of NTSA on this unwarranted harassment," he said.
"He promised to consult his superiors with a view of halting the exercise while we consult on the best way to carry out the exercise and also give PSV owners time to comply. "
Data from the Economic Survey 2021 showed that registration of new minibuses and matatus dropped by 43.9 per cent to 1,084 units in 2020 from 1,932 units in 2019.
“This was the highest decline in newly registered motor vehicles,” KNBS said.
The low uptake of public service vehicles led to a 22.5 per cent decline in the number of PSV licenses issued from 63,938 in 2019 to 49,560 in 2020.
This decline was mainly attributed to restriction of movement by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The number of PSV licenses issued to matatus dropped by 23 per cent from 47,183 in 2019 to 36,323 in 2020 while those issued to buses dropped by 17.5 per cent from 8,969 in 2019 to 7,401 in 2020.
The number of PSV licenses issued to minibuses also declined by 25 per cent from 7,786 in 2019 to 5,836 in 2020.
Mukabanah was accompanied by secretary Dickson Mbugua and a host of operators.
The chairman said they do not object to road safety compliance checks but the manner in which it was being conducted.
"It is not civil, it is not sensitive to socially disadvantaged passengers and it is ill-timed given the political climate in the country. We abhor and detest this crackdown," he said.
Mukabanah said the audit has turned out to be an exercise where NTSA and police coerce, intimidate and forcefully demand bribes of between Sh5,000 and Sh20,000 for flimsy defects of the vehicles.
He said the exercise had turned into a money-minting venture.
He said the sector did not receive the billions of shillings stimulus unlike other sectors in the transport industry such as airlines.
He said their cries and complaints have been ignored leaving them with no option but to withdraw their vehicles to ensure compliance is done fairly without extortion.
"We demand the government intervenes in this matter and stops its officials from harassing and extorting money from our members forthwith," he said.
He warned that failure to listen to their demands will see all PSV operators withdraw their vehicles from operation countrywide effective Wednesday.
Mukabanah said that NTSA and police have made matters worse from the sector which is still reeling from the after effects of Covid-19 pandemic.
"We protest and condemn the manner in which NTSA and traffic police are executing this otherwise noble road safety compliance audit in the PSV transport sector," Mukabanah said.
(Edited by Francis Wadegu)