Thousands left stranded after Kenya bans night travel

NAIROBI - Hundred of travellers were on Monday stranded as a transport hitch hit various parts of the country following Sunday’s ban on night bus travel by the National Transport and Safety Authority.

Bus companies and urban businesses the latter which rely heavily on the labour stranded upcountry after the year-ender festivities - were left counting heavy losses as the shock directive took effect.

In various towns across the country, travellers who had made advance bookings were forced to spend cold nights inside stationary buses. Others were forced to return home and wait for the rush to ebb. Parents and students rushing back to school for the new term, which begins today, were the most affected.

The NTSA, whose decision has been termed as a futile and needlessly punitive knee-jerk reaction, said the ban, which restricts long-distance passenger service vehicles to travel between 18:00 hours and 07:00 hours, was in response to the rising number of road accidents at night.

On Monday, NTSA director-general Francis Meja defended the ban as “well thought-out despite the inconveniences it had caused travellers and bus companies.”

“The decision was arrived at after careful consideration and discussions for public good and safety,” Mr Meja said in a statement.

But passenger service operators criticised the ban as retrogressive and ill-advised. Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) chairman Dickson Mbugua said it was a poorly thought-out unilateral decision that has no place in the 21st century.