The county government of Uasin Gishu has refused to extend a deadline requiring taxis in Eldoret town to operate under new rules agreed jointly by the operators and the county government.
According to the new rules, no taxi was to be allowed to operate in Eldoret after June 16 without belonging to a Sacco, having a yellow line, inspection sticker, PSV license and first aid kit among other things.
Speaking in Eldoret town on Wednesday, Sergeant James Ndungu, the traffic enforcement officer in the area, said that the deadline for compliance with the requirements under the law was long overdue.
He said his team will start enforcing the law with immediate effect. He called on all taxi operators who had not complied with the law not to operate until they had met the set requirements.
“This deadline was set by the operators together with the county government. I don’t see the reason why they shouldn’t have adhered to the law and they were present when we were setting the deadline,” Ndungu said.
On the other hand, the taxi operators pleaded with the government to extend this deadline as the time given was not enough. They said to acquire these items, they needed money which was not easy to come by. They said some took lengthy processes that needed more time.
“We need more time for us to acquire the certificate of good conduct. We need to write letters and wait for approval before waiting for the certificate itself,” said Wachira one of the taxi owners.
The traffic department however refused to extend the deadline saying the operators had enough time.
They were speaking during a meeting between the taxi operators and representatives from the county government summoned by the Eldoret traffic engineer Ms Judy Chebiwot.