Matatu Sacco Super Metro denies allegations cited by NTSA in their license suspension, dismissing all grounds of violations
NTSA accused Super Metro of flouting various safety regulations including operating vehicles with expired inspection certificates and road service licenses RSL.
The authority disclosed that 15 vehicles had expired inspections certificates, eight had expired RSLs, five had expired speed limiter certificates and 88 lacked speed data transitions displays
However, the company has moved to court, in a strong defiance of the move and instead accused the agency of selective application of justice
The Federation of Public Transport Sector Kushian Muchiri has acccused National Transport and Safety Authority for suspending operating licenses of Super Metro Bus Services
While addressing media at Archive Stage on 20th March, Muchiri claimed that the authority is discriminating some of the public transport saccos and applying selective application of law
Muchiri, maintained that they have complied with all safety regulations and that the passenger they are accused of causing his death, the authority should have dealt with the driver and the conductor
However, according to the crew, they claimed that the passenger was not thrown by their crew, insisting that he jumped over moving bus after failing to pay the bus fare of only Ksh 30, where the family members denied, since his mpesa had some money
Earlier on Thursday, National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) company’s operator license due to multiple safety and compliance violations.
According to NTSA, the suspension remains in effect until the company fully adheres to the 2014 Public Service Vehicles Regulations and other mandatory requirements, a decision which aims to enhance passenger safety and protect other road users.
Public Transport Sector Audit Exposed Major violations
A recent audit of Super Metro’s operations uncovered serious compliance failures. Out of 523 vehicles, authorities found that:
- 15 had expired inspection certificates.
- 8 were operating with expired Road Service Licenses (RSLs).
- 5 had expired speed limiter certificates.
- 88 were not transmitting speed data.
- 171 lacked speed limiter records.
- 7 had no vendor details for their speed limiters.
- 109 were operating beyond the speed limit of 80 Kph.
Further concerns emerged regarding driver qualifications. NTSA determined that some drivers failed to meet the required standards under the Traffic (Driving Schools, Driving Instructors, and Driving Licenses) Rules, 2020.
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Additionally, the company violated labor laws by failing to provide proper employment contracts, statutory deductions, and workplace safety measures for its staff.
Additionally, Super Metro Chairman Mukuria whille speaking to Safi News said that they have moved to court to challenge the directives from the NTSA and seek the court to reverse it since it’s affecting their business, employees and also their customers
They insisted that the suspension wasn’t in good faith and that given time, they willl adhere to some of what they termed minor issues that can be addressed without such punitive directives which might cost them millions of shillings they make per day