Over 10,000 motorists registered to use Nairobi Expressway ahead of Saturday launch

Over 10,000 motorists have registered to use the Nairobi Expressway ahead of its launch on Saturday where it will be open for public use.

 Motorists have either the option of registering to use a manual payment system or install an automatic payment system which will allow them to go through tolling stations faster.

During an inspection tour of the 27 kilometres expressway, Parliament’s Transport Committee said that they were satisfied by the works done on the expressway ahead of the Saturday launch.

“The road is complete and we are satisfied with all the works that has been done. What we were looking for during this inspection is whether it had security and if it was safe for Kenyans to start using it,” Parliamentary Transport committee Chair David Pkosing said.

So far over 10,000 Kenyans have registered to use the expressway with 3 options available , a manual system , an electronic system and cash payment .

For the manual tolling card (MTC), one is only required to have a national ID to register for the card which will cost you Ksh.1300, Ksh.300 for service charge and Ksh.1000 to be loaded onto the card.

For the electronic tolling card or (ETC), one will be required to produce a national ID and the Log book of the vehicle being registered at a cost of Ksh.3000 , Ksh.1000 or service charge and Ksh.2000 to be loaded onto the card.

The road has 11 tolling stations, 54 toll plaza’s , 54 cameras along the whole 27-kilometre road with 126 cameras inside the toll plaza’s . The entire road is monitored with recordings being done at 30 minutes intervals.  Further, there’s a smart monitoring system that detects congestions, spillage, vehicle reversals , pedestrian crossing and emergencies .

“The motoring is to ensure that there is no snarl-up at the tolling stations or along the road and also to ensure safety of the road users,” said Grace Mueni, Express way monitor.

The Transport Committee has dismissed allegations that there will be fines for offenders along the road stating that all laws must pass through the committee before approval by parliament and implementation by KeNHA.