Some 6, 000 Boda-boda operators in Narok County have registered for the free smart driving licenses since the exercise was launched in March this year.
Narok Boda boda operators chairman Lemayian Punyua said the county has over 20, 000 boda boda operators and requested those who have not yet registered to do so before the exercise winds up on May 26, 2022.
Punyua reminded the cyclists that the smart card is essential in streamlining the sector and promoting road safety for both the operators and their customers.
“The government gave us 60 working days to register for the smart license, those who will miss out in the registration will not be allowed to operate after the deadline which is fast approaching,” he said.
The boda boda chairman reminded the riders that they are expected to present themselves physically at a Huduma center with their original identity card, a copy of KRA PIN and a registered phone number where the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) officials will register them free of charge.
Punyua however cited the major challenge the operators faced was long distances from their areas of operation to the Huduma center that is located in Narok town.
“Narok is a vast county. We have many boda boda operating in far off places like Loita, Mara, Mosiro among other remote places who have to travel long distances to get to the registration desk at the Huduma center,” he observed.
He called for the decentralization of the exercise to the sub county headquarters to make it easy for those operating in areas far from the town.
“The exercise aims at bringing reforms in the boda boda sector that is poorly regulated. We are looking at a time when people will take pleasure in boarding a boda boda rather than a taxi like in the country of Rwanda,” said Narok County Commissioner Isaac Masinde during the launch of registration in March this year.
Masinde warned riders against being used by politicians to cause chaos saying they will bear the consequences as individuals and not as a group.
The government launched the exercise with the primary objective of streamlining the sector and promoting road safety and security for both the operators and pillion passengers. Over 2.5 million riders were expected to be registered by the end of the exercise.
