Commuters on Jogoo Road will start using cashless fare from February 1st 2015. Five Public service vehicle SACCOs have agreed to phase out the ‘analogue’ cash fare system under a new government directive to embrace digital transactions.
Ummoiner Sacco, which boasts 100 buses, Cibet and MOA Compliant both with 40 buses each, ROG and Oma, which have 38 and 32 buses respectively, will stop receiving cash payments effective from February 1. The bus owners cite revenue leaks as the major motivation of embracing this technology, claiming that around 30% of the daily revenue is lost through corruption and dishonest touts.
The Saccos have partnered with Fibre Space Ltd, a technology company which is providing the MY1963 payment card and Safaricom’s M-Pesa service. About 2,000 job opportunities are expected to be created to Kenyans when this program is fully implemented. MY196 is a cash-light fare system that uses a digital card, like an ATM card, to settle bus fare.
While addressing the possibility of the new technology facing opposition, Mr. Mwakio Ngale, General Manager, Fiber Space Limited, said: “While the Matatu owners fully understand the need for the cash-light fare system, the majority of passengers have shied away from embracing them due to limited information. With this partnership our activators will be in bus terminals explaining the details to passengers.”
The government has come under heavy criticism for ineffective awareness on the new system. Last year, the government had set July 1st deadline for the cashless system but later changed it to December 1, which passed with very minimal change.
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