The SACCOs refusing to accept cash from today have some of the largest fleets along the Jogoo Road route
Nine PSV Saccos with 410 vehicles plying Nairobi’s Jogoo road route from Eastlands are today switching over to cash lite fare system 1963, and will begin refusing cash as payment for matatu fares from this evening.
The nine SACCOs – Royal Swift, Mwamba, Umoinner, Pin Point, Prime East, Compliant, C-Bet, ROG, and Oma – will, from today through to Wednesday, be working with 50 route managers, based at all bus stations, who will be boarding each matatu to check that all passengers have receipts issued from the on-board 1963 terminals.
The nine SACCOs have alerted the police, informing Nairobi County Police Commandant Benson Kibue of the changeover, in order to secure the support of the authorities in achieving a smooth transition.
The SACCOs refusing to accept cash from today have some of the largest fleets along the Jogoo Road route, and run routes from Kayole, Donholm, Umoja, Outer Ring, Civil Servants, Buruburu, and Uhuru Estate. Conductors on the cash lite matatus will be wearing 1963 T-shirts today to aide commuters in identifying matatus that will only accept the 1963 cards as payment.
The 1963 cards are being distributed free, from all bus terminals, with registration requiring a national identification card, a valid phone number and date of birth information. Users can then load money onto their cards using M-PESA at no cost, thanks to a partnership with Safaricom.
From Wednesday, each 1963 matatu will have stickers inside giving SACCO hotline numbers for passengers to use in the event a conductor will not accept their 1963 fare card and demands cash. The SACCO chairmen say anyone who has a 1963 card with credit who is refused a ticket and receipt will travel for free, and the SACCOs will dismiss any conductor who continues accepting, or seeking, cash payments on the 1963 compliant matatus.
“The Matatu owners taking it upon themselves to switch over to the cards means that the transition will be fast and smooth,” said Mr Mwakio Ngale, General Manager of Fiber Space Limited, which owns and runs the 1963 card system.
The 1963 card, which also gives passengers loyalty points to get free fares and offers fare credit facilities, will mean fixed fares, in future, in place of fare hikes during rain and at heavy traffic periods. The system will also see drivers and touts put onto formal salaries, with health benefits and credit facilities.
“This move to order, and a smooth flow of passenger revenues to the SACCOs, is long overdue, but is now happening as the product of a cash lite system that has been built to guarantee fair and decent terms to everyone in the industry and to all its customers,” said Mwakio.
