Matatu operators in Migori cautioned on hiking prices

Migori,

Thursday, January 11, 2024,

KNA by Geoffrey Makokha

Matatu operators in Migori County have been cautioned against hiking fare rates during the January school rush.

The Chairperson of Migori Town Sacco, Daniel Omolo, urged the Matatu owners, not to hike the prices to cushion passengers from being exploited.

He noted that a lot of students were returning to their respective schools and subjecting them to the increased fare, was unfair to their guardians, especially during these hard economic times.

Omolo said that as the elected officials of the Matatu industry in the County, they will ensure sanity and discipline, are restored to protect the passengers.

“Majority of our customers are reporting to their workstations, while students are returning to their respective schools and it is only wise to subject them to our normal fare to cushion them from the hard and harsh economic times, that we are all facing,” said Omolo.

He, however, condemned the police for using teargas on matatu operators, for demonstrating against the punitive measures being imposed by the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) in the County.

“A stage is a place where we have young passengers and students awaiting to board their respective vehicles; and lobbing tear gas endangers the lives of the very children and women,” bewailed Omolo.

He explained that the employed mechanism of removing number plates from the Public Service Vehicles (PSV), was not the solution to solving the problems facing the matatu sector in the County.

Similarly, the Chairperson of Migori-Nyatike-Karugo Sacco, Jared Oketch, urged NTSA to go slow on the crackdown, to avoid paralyzing the transport sector in the County.

“We have students who are returning to school, as well as individuals who are reporting back to their workstations, that have been stranded,” lamented Oketch.

 He urged the Authority to act in decorum, instead of showing up during the festival seasons to punish the matatu industry.

The official pointed out that majority of the PSVs in the County have complied with traffic rules, adding that the Authority was looking for minor issues to try and pin them down paralyzing the transport sector, since Sunday 7.

He explained that majority of the Matatu owners are fearing to subject their vehicles this January, for fear of hefty fines that are being imposed by the NTSA, during these hard economic times.

 Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Migori Matatu Operators Sacco Cooperative Union, Henry Odhiambo, encouraged the elected Matatu leaders, to work together to improve the welfare of the Matatu industry in the County.

Courtesy; KNA