This archive report was first published on 11 July 2019.
Kenya's digital taxi industry is on the brink of collapse as drivers prepare to down tools on Monday, July 15, 2019, in protest of the unfulfilled Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) reached with taxi firms in July 2018.
According to a letter addressed to Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia and served to the Nairobi County Government on July 11, 2019, the drivers represented in the Digital Taxi Forum (DTF) announced the start of an indefinite go-slow, citing the failure of digital taxi app companies to honour the deal.
DTF President John Kimani stated that the engagement with the app operators commenced immediately after the signing of the MOU, but the enforcement of agreed pricing terms has been marred by confusion over whether the national government or counties make for the mediating party.
‘We agreed to the MOU and returned to work in good faith, the engagement between us and the taxi firms have already broken down. Further, there is confusion as to whether the national government or counties make for the mediating party given transport is a devolved function,’ Mr. Kimani told Citizen Digital in a phone interview.
The proposed Association of Online Taxi Sacco’s is tipped to establish the platform for uniform standards while ensuring all online Saccos adhere to a set of rules and regulations.
