Expressway's USSD service number *819# becomes effective

Kenyans using the Expressway can now start making payments and accessing services using a new shortcode.

This is after Moja Expressway Company, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation on Monday said that the USSD code (*819#) for expressway services was effective.

"Introducing the Nairobi Expressway USSD Code, *819# - a wide range of services on the go. Effortlessly check your balance, access mini-statements and many more at your convenience, all with a simple dial on your phone,"  reads a statement.

Once a user dials *819#on the mobile phone a message "Welcome to the Nairobi Expressway! Please register to continue" pops up on the screen.

One is given three options Top Up ETC, Top Up MTC, Register or Exit.

From there one is given several steps to follow depending on the selected option.

The shortcode will help access the Expressway services at hand.

Last year in September, expressway users were topping up their cards using a USSD code, *208# or via mobile banking applications.

However,  the new code is owned by the Moja Expressway Company itself.

Now Expressway users can get services through their phones without having to visit the main service centre at Nairobi Expressway Plaza along Mombasa Road.

To use the expressway one is supposed to have registered either by installation of the On-Board Unit for Electronic Toll Collection Service or Manual Toll Collection.

The MTC operates like a credit card and will be periodically topped up through electronic payments. It will cost you Sh1,300, including the Sh300 service charge.

The Sh1,000 is loaded onto the card. The MTC users get a pass voucher at the entry point, which will be submitted at the toll station before exiting. 

With the pass voucher, the toll station will calculate the amount to be deducted depending on the entry point and the distance covered.

Motorists opting to use the ETC service, which offers fast and easy transit, are not subjected to many hitches.

They have the On-Board Unit device, a communication device mounted on vehicles.

One will be required to produce the national ID and the logbook of the vehicle being registered for Sh3,000, comprising Sh1,000  service charge and Sh2,000 to be loaded onto the card.

Once they get to the entry point, the device is detected by the screens and automatically granted access to the expressway in about two minutes.

The expressway seeks to decongest Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway and Waiyaki Way but has experienced traffic since it was opened to the public.

The road has 11 tolling stations, 54 toll plazas, and 54 cameras, with 126 cameras inside the toll plazas.

The road is monitored with recordings being done at 30-minute intervals.

There’s a smart monitoring system that detects congestion, spillage, vehicle reversals, pedestrian crossing and emergencies.

The dual carriageway has 11 interchanges at Mlolongo, Standard Gauge Railway, JKIA, Eastern Bypass, Southern Bypass, Capital Centre, Haile Selassie Avenue, Museum Hill, Westlands, and James Gichuru Road.

The expressway, with 18.2km on the ground and 8.9km elevated, is a class A, four-lane dual carriageway with a design speed of 80km per hour.