Kenya’s ban on night travel by public service vehicles (PSVs) is unlikely to affect tour operators.
This is according to the Kenya Association of Tour Operators (KATO), which approached Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to clarify the ban after it was introduced late last year.
The ban was announced by Kenya’s NTSA and published on December 17, under Legal Notice 219, of the National Transport and Safety Authority Act.
According to the notice, which can be accessed here, PSVs may not travel at night without a 24-hour operating licence.
The ban follows an increase in road accidents. In August last year, Capital News quoted Transport Secretary Michael Kamau as saying government would ban PSVs traveling at night to reduce road accidents after 41 people were killed in an accident Narok that occurred at 02h00.
Fred Kaigua, KATO Chief Executive, told Tourism Update that the NTSA had indicated that the ban would not affect tour operators.
However, Kaigua added that the NTSA had agreed to make this clarification and that KATO would follow up with the authority in this regard. “Unfortunately there is only one category of licence for public transportation (PSV) for all users and this requires that clarification is made,” Kaigua explained.
He said tour operators usually tried to ensure their vehicles arrived at the respective destinations by nightfall but there were valid reasons why an operator would find its vehicle on the road in the early hours of the night. “Tourists arrive and depart at all times of the night and, depending on the location, the journey to and from the airport may entail some travel,” he said.
“A blanket ban that incorporates tour operators would be disastrous for the sector and we are very optimistic that the issue of how the ban relates to tour operations will be satisfactorily resolved within the next few days,” said Kaigua.
