Matatu owners are pushing for the return of a cashless fare system, arguing that cash payments have made it easier for traffic police to extort drivers and conductors.
Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai said the availability of liquid cash had turned the public transport sector into a target for bribery. He said officers were “fixing” operators in order to get bribes.
“Money offences have now been turned into cash cows as the available liquid money is the source of corruption in the transport sector,” Mr Kimutai said on Wednesday during a public transport sectoral consultative forum in Nairobi.
He also urged the National Transport and Safety Authority to empower matatu saccos so they can revoke licences of members who break the rules.
“It is the Saccos that suffer during accidents and if they are empowered then they can rein on errant members,” he said.
The cashless fare push is tied to earlier government efforts to reform the PSV industry. In 2014, the Ministry of Transport, under the Operation of Public Service Vehicles Regulations 2013, set July 2015 as the deadline for matatus to adopt cashless payments, before extending it to December that same year.
The system was meant to streamline the sector and help the Kenya Revenue Authority collect taxes from it. It was also promoted as a way to curb corruption, give investors better control of cash flow and reduce fare hikes during peak hours.
Several firms entered the market, including Safaricom’s Lipa na M-Pesa, Fibre Space Limited’s MY 1963, Google’s Beba Pay in partnership with Equity Bank, and a Hong Kong firm’s TaptoPay.
The proposed system was expected to issue receipts showing a passenger’s balance, the vehicle registration number and the conductor’s name. Registration for the card was free, and users only needed a national identification card, a valid phone number and date of birth details to open an account.
Passengers could then top up the card through M-Pesa or other payment methods, depending on the system in use.
