Thika Township Ward MCA Kennedy Mwangi has appealed to the government to zero-rate taxes on motorbikes to enable more youths to buy them.
Speaking in Thika Town on Thursday when disbursing 2,000 reflector jackets and umbrellas to bodaboda riders, Mwangi said the current average price of a motorbike is Sh90,000 which is way too expensive for the youth.
"I would like to request our government to do away with taxes on motorbikes. The bodaboda sector has employed many youths and opportunities for more youths to join the sector are still there if we could only make the motorbikes affordable," said Mwangi.
The MCA said many youths recovering from alcoholism would get a full time job in the sector.
He said the reflector jackets will help reduce accidents as well as crime seeing that the jackets have a phone number at the back belonging to the chairman of where the motorbike ferries passengers from.
"You can now be able to trace where the motorbike ferries passengers from in case of any eventuality," he said.
Speaking at the same event, Thika Bodaboda Association Chairman John Mugendi asked other leaders in the area to come up with a similar initiative to help the youths.