#DIGITAL PAYMENTS & REFORMS
“
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Matatu owners lose a lot of money
through extortion from cartels, bribes to police or even embezzlement by
employers,” says Mr. Samson Kimutai; the Matatu Owners Association (MOA) chairman.
Well, in just over a month’s
time, you might find yourself unable to board a matatu if you do not have a
Near Field Communication-enabled card as public transport makes the
final shift to cashless payments.
The National Transport and Safety
Authority (NTSA) deadline requiring all passenger service vehicles to
exclusively use a cashless fare system lapses on July 1st. the
directive is expected to go live in the capital first; before being rolled out
in phases in throughout the country.
Matatu owners are optimistic that
electronic modes of payment of bus fare in public transport will be the magic
bullet that streamlines the chaotic industry; which is worth an estimated sh
205 billion.
Will history repeat
itself? This however is not the first time Kenya has tried organizing its
public transport system through digitizing fare payments.
Megarider; the earliest
form of a cashless fare system; saw commuters buy monthly scratch cards that
were redeemable in the then vibrant Kenya Bus Services (KBS) vehicles.
the system; which was popular in
the 90s; enjoyed success until it was quietly phased out as a string of
financial woes hits KBS and led to its eventual collapse.
In 2009, Tata motors and the Ministry
Of Nairobi Metropolitan Development launched Smart Buses, an idea that
became stillborn after large-scale deployment became impractical.
Google, through its product Beba Pay, launched in partnership with Equity
Bank, leads a growing list of telecoms and financial providers including-
Safaricom,
Family Bank, Master Card and Visa-keen on tapping into the
opportunities in the sector.
-by Embukane Vincent Libosso.
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