Kenya’s public transportation system has taken a new turn by adopting the cashless system that will replace the conventional cash exchange transaction.
The popular Matatus, the minivans and buses widely used in Kenya have been instructed to change to the new cashless system. Commuters in Kenya will now pay for fares by electronic means. Commuters will have to pre-load money on plastic cards and then swiping it across a reader as they board.
Authority says the implementation of this policy was aimed at regulating the system, reduce corruption and increasing Government tax revenue. It was also made known that adoption of this new system will be a gradual process and there will be great flexibility in the use of cash for the meantime after relaxing the previous deadline that was set for the operators.
This new system has also generated lots of reaction from various quarters, the Matatu Welfare Association chairman Dickson Mbugua warned that neither the public nor matatu operators had been properly educated about the system.