Githurai buses modified to accommodate pregnant women

Githurai buses modified to accommodate pregnant women

Pregnant women, the elderly and people living with disability in Nairobi will now be able to board certain matatus hustle free.

This comes after Nicco Movers Limited Sacco began making improvements to their services in an effort to help streamline the operations of matatu industry in Kenya.

The Sacco which has 60 buses plying Githurai-Nairobi route is adjusting some of their seats to accommodate expectant women, the old and physically challenged passengers.

In each of the 51-seater buses, they have modified seven seats to give enough leg space for vulnerable customers.

So far, the Sacco has modified 14 buses and according to the management, this will continue in all their new fleet.

“We adjusted three sets of seats near the door. Two sets on the left side which accommodates two people per set and one on the right accommodating three passengers,” Simon Mwathiki, the Sacco operations manager told Mwananchi Reporting.

This means the bus capacity is reduced from 51 to 46 seats to have enough room for even commuters using crutches.

According to Mwathiki, the move was prompted by challenges and complaints from the elderly and handicapped ones.

“They had challenges boarding the vehicles, especially in rush hours. Forced to squeeze their way to the back seats and those using crutches had no leg space but with these changes they have space close to the door at no extra fee” he said.

The vulnerable passengers board the vehicle without queuing and the seven seats are the last ones to be occupied when the bus gets full with less or no passengers designated to sit there.

The move resonates with the law passed by the Nairobi City County assembly two years ago.

The Nairobi City County Transport Act, 2020 provides that all public transport vehicles shall have designated seats close to the alighting door for passengers with physical disability or special need.

In the act, the 17 seaters to have one seat, 18 to 35 capacity matatus to have two designated seats and those with over 35 passengers to have three designated seats.

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Githurai matatu buses pregnant women people with disability

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