The National Youth Service has introduced commuter buses in the city and will be charging a flat rate of Sh50 to any destination.
NYS Director General Richard Ndubai in a statement said commuters will pay Sh50 regardless of the distance covered.
“The decision to deploy the NYS buses has also been made to save commuters the high fares they are charged by PSVs in the current season,” he said as quoted by the Star.
The first batch of NYS buses will be dispatched to ferry passengers from highly populated within the city.
They include Kibera, Githurai, Mwiki, Mukuru kwa Njenga, Dandora, Kariobangi and Kawangware.
Ndubai said during this rainy season, many people are forced to walk in the rain because they cannot afford high fares imposed on them by their respective transport providers.
“We have witnessed people in Nairobi walking long distances in the rain and most of the time due to high fares charged by commuter vehicles. We shall do the much we can to alleviate the suffering,” noted the NYS Director General.
However, the Nairobi matatu owners association has opposed this move by NYS.
Matatu Owners Association Simon Kimutai and the chair Matatu Welfare Association Dickson Mbugua said they will frustrate the move because there was no consultation.
“We have to question their intention. We don’t fear competition but we perceive such a move as a deliberate action by the government to spoil our business,” Kimutai told the Star.
Kimutai questioned why NTSA allowed NYS to operate yet it had pledged not to allow any other players in the sector.
“The NTSA announced that it had stopped enrolling new players in the business so what criteria did the NYS use to get into the business?”
He added that NYS buses will create unfair competition and lead to an over-supply of transport services.
“The government cannot compete with subjects it wants to sustain operations through taxes. It directed us to upgrade our matatus by phasing out 14-seaters yet we had invested heavily in them.
They cannot just undercut us like this. This government is bad for any business. They tried it before between 1988 and 1993 … it fell flat on their faces. This will not work due to vested interests,” Kimutai charged.