Matatus will be allowed back on expressway, says Murkomen

Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) will soon be allowed back on the Nairobi expressway after a10-month ban following an accident.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen told MPs yesterday that the ministry was considering allowing the PSVs back on the expressway after a review of the ban .

“They were denied an opportunity because of the accident but now we are reviewing that ban. The request is at my desk and we are looking at it,” Mr Murkomen said.

Former Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia banned Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) carrying more than seven passengers from using the road in July last year.

The measures were announced by the government following a road accident involving an Embassava Sacco minibus at the Mlolongo toll station.

In the accident, the vehicle sped into the toll gate at Mlolongo entry, smashing into others on the line.

Mr Murkomen also revealed that the government is in the process of building an exit from the expressway into the Central Business District (CBD).

The CS said the construction of the exit would take eight months and the contractor would be notified at the end of this month when to commence the work.

He told the MPs that the new exit would be built at the new Green Park terminus, adding the government had already acquired land for the purpose and that the construction would take eight months.

“The approved design land has been acquired and will be communicated to the developer by the end of this month,” Mr Murkomen said.

He told the lawmakers that the initial design of the expressway had included an exit on Haile Selassie Avenue in the CBD. However, the government was unable to provide the necessary land for tolling stations at the exit of the road, which led to the decision to construct the exit at a different location.

On the number of vehicles using the expressway, Mr Murkomen told MPs that since inception, a total of 12, 491, 402 vehicles have used the road.

 In the period between May and June 2022, a total of 1, 257, 019 vehicles used the road, translating to 26,188 vehicles per day that used the expressway.

Between the period of July-September, a total of 3, 147, 206 used the expressway translating to 34, 209 vehicles that used the road per day.

According to statistics provided by Murkomen yesterday, in the period of October-October last year, 3, 974, 821 vehicles used to expressway which translates to 43, 205 vehicles per day that used the road.

In the period between January-March this year, the CS said a total of 4, 112, 357 vehicles used the expressway which translates to 45, 000 vehicles per day.