No preaching, begging and 18 new rules as matatus resume carrying full capacity [LIST]

The new directive was announced as one among a total of 19 measures that will guide the operators as they resume normal operations starting Monday August 9, 2021.

Speaking on Friday, Transport Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Chris Obure announced that matatu operators would be required to sign an MoU with the government to ascertain that they will comply with the new rules.

CAS Obure outlined the new measures as follows:-

All passengers are hand sanitized before boarding
All passengers wear masks properly (covering mouth and nose) while in the vehicle
All passengers are thoroughly screened for high temperatures using a contact free thermometer and that no passenger is allowed to board if their body temperature is above 37.5° C or has other signs of COVID-19 including cough or shortness of breath
The crew to use 3-ply surgical face masks at all time during the journey because of the high risk of contracting and spreading the virus due to exposure from huge customers interacting with them daily. Also to be tested frequently to ensure their temperature is below 37.5 degrees C
Proper air ventilation of the vehicle while on transit to minimize air re-circulation and allow the use of fresh air
No hawking, preaching or begging onboard the vehicle in order to reduce the risk of contamination while on transit
No unnecessary stop-overs while on transit and if possible make non-stop journey to decrease the risk of contamination posed by unnecessary contact with the local population and other travelers
The crew to make constant on-board announcements reminding passengers on the need to uphold personal precautionary measures to use face masks at all times while onboard
Disembarkation at the destination to be conducted by rows starting with the closest rows to the exits in order to ensure physical distancing to the maximum extent possible and avoid queues
The crew to ensure that the vehicle is disinfected after every trip
The operator to adhere to all regulatory requirements of the Traffic Act.
We agreed then and have also now agreed on championing self regulation which will require
PSV operators/association to introduce internal hotline communication numbers which should be displayed prominently for use by commuters/road users in case of any incidence including traffic laws violations
PSV SACCOs and companies operating along various routes to organize themselves with a view to establishing Joint Traffic Marshals/Compliance Teams commonly known as Route Inspectors in the law
The PSV SACCOs and Companies to encourage use of cashless payment systems that will support contact tracing to enable medical officials track passengers in the event a covid-19 case is established
All SACCOs to re-activate their route inspectors as per the PSV Regulations to monitor and enhance self-regulations/compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines
All passengers to wear 3-ply surgical masks at all times during the period of the journey
Moving forward the Ministry of Transport will in the coming three days be signing a MOU with the operators that will ensure they comply with the protocols as they resume the full conveyance capacity