•A taxi driver Peter Kamau conceded that like in any other business, the urge to reap big on any given day makes them prefer longer routes always.
•Fellow road users have also raised grave concerns about the general conduct of cab drivers on Kenyan roads.
A couple of years after the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) unveiled strict laws to reign in errant taxi drivers, some clients say they are still disappointed.
Emily Awino said she has, on numerous occasions, ended up paying more for a cab ride after the driver intentionally took a longer route.
“My friends and I waved down a cab and asked the driver to drop us off at our workstation because we were scared of arriving late. We regretted the decision because the driver opted for a busy road and we were caught up in a snarl-up,” Awino said.
“He had the option of using a different road but insisted on the one he took.
“If you are not familiar with your surrounding can extort you big time. They end up taking longer routes so that they can earn more money in the process,” she said.
A taxi driver Peter Kamau conceded that like in any other business, the urge to reap big on any given day makes them prefer longer routes always.
“I don’t get angry at the passenger at all. Long rides are more profitable so we like them. But naturally, we are not going to have back-to-back long rides all day long,” Kamau said.
“The opposite happens though. Some days it is all short rides all day long. Days like that are tiresome. You work hard all day and spend all this time and have little money. If you divide the money by the total time you work, clearly it is less profitable than long rides,” he added.
“So at the end of such days I might be tired or irritated but I don’t get angry with the people. What am I going to do, tell them to come on, go somewhere else, go farther? It is what it is, some days will be like that,” he said.
And it’s not only the clients complaining about cab drivers. Fellow road users have also raised grave concerns about the general conduct of cab drivers on Kenyan roads.
For instance, Derrick Maonga says he wonders why cab drivers are never in a hurry even when driving on the highways.
“They intentionally maintain a low speed of almost 30km/h, thus causing the unnecessary jam,” Maonga said.
Cab driver, John Khaemba, says the fear of getting into trouble with the police sometimes forces them to avoid routes that clients might deem more favourable.
Umoja I MCA, Mark Mugambi Macharia, has promised to introduce a Bill in the Nairobi County Assembly to secure picking and dropping zones for online cabs in the city centre.
Mugambi said the move was meant to protect the drivers from constant harassment by county constables.
“This term I intend to bring bills that will support and favour our online taxi drivers. we should have them allocated picking and dropping zones within the central business district (CBD). This will curb the harassment they face from our county askari,” Mugambi said.
Mugambi also reiterated his desire to discourage a trend where foreign firms have been reaping big from online apps at the expense of local drivers.
“I’ll also do a bill that will end the exploitation they face from the foreign apps. Our citizens need to be respected and appreciated and not abused,” Mugambi said.
The county legislator empathised with the drivers whom he said risked causing accidents due to a busy schedule.
“We’ve all witnessed the numerous cases of our online taxi drivers involved in serious accidents, this is normally caused by fatigue as they work for longer hours without rest,” Mugambi said.
“This, therefore, puts the lives of the passengers at risk as they are not able to know if their driver is in a good driving condition.”
In 2020, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) came up with laws to reign in errant drivers and clients.
The transport regulator swung into action following grave concerns raised by the members of the public over the conduct of some of the cab drivers and companies offering digital taxi services.
NTSA said drivers who intentionally take longer routes to rip off clients will be thrown into prison for six months. The drivers will alternatively pay an Sh20,000 fine upon conviction.
NTSA also warned cab drivers against modifying the windows of their vehicles, abusing substances while on duty, and operating more than eight hours a day.
The new laws also require cab drivers to send receipts to their passengers. However, drivers are not the only targets.
NTSA equally set terms of service for customers who have been asked to refrain from using offensive language or gestures, acting in a disorderly manner, causing physical harm to drivers, damaging vehicles, and engaging in substance abuse.
It also called for fresh registration of digital taxi-hailing companies operating within the country.
Director-General George Njao set a 14-day deadline for companies to comply with the new laws, adding that the directive was in line with the implementation of the Transportation, Network Companies (TNC), Drivers, and Passenger Rules.
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