Passengers in Bungoma stranded as police intensify crackdown on faulty vehicles

Written by Rosemary Wachiye

Passengers in Bungoma town scramble for a Matatu van. A police crackdown in the towm led to withdrwal of vehicles on the road by owners to avoid being arrested for failing to comply with traffic rules. [Photo/Rosemary Wachiye/WestFm] Passengers travelling to various destinations from Bungoma town were left stranded on stages over the weekend following a traffic crackdown by traffic police. The crackdown led to many vehicles being withdrawn from the road for failing to meet the required standards as the officers swung into action and arrested those found not to be in compliance. The few Matatu operates who satisfied the officers made a kill as they hiked bus fare as the many passengers scrambled for the few vehicles. Students and even the sick were not spared as they all had to wait for the few vehicles and when they were on stage, it was everybody for their selves as they struggled to get a seat. “We have no means of travelling and yet most of us are parents who are taking our children back to school, it’s very bad for us to be treated like this yet we are not to blame for the bad conditions in some of the vehicles,” said one of the passengers. Speaking with west fm, most public vehicle operators that ply the route described the crack down on vehicles as abrupt and unexpected something that has caught them unawares leading to a missive loss on their part as they now have to evade using that road. “We didn’t expect such a thing to occur in a way its punishing us but more so punishing our passengers who are now stranded,” said one of the touts at the bus station. Some of the passengers were forced to use motor bicycles while others squeezed themselves in the available public service vehicles. Motorcycle operators ferry stranded passengers to teir destinations at a hiked price.  Most matatu touts and motor bicycle operators took advantage of the situation created by the crackdown by hiking the travelling bus fare to almost double the normal price. People with luggage were seen standing at the bus station undecided on what to do with the rise in travelling bus fare and the lack of vehicles to transport them to their destination. The matatu touts however complained of the action taken by the police officers to be of malice because they revealed that most of the vehicles caught during the police inspection had no offences and there were no explanation as to why they were caught. “The police seem to be only after getting cash from us because even brand new vehicles that are without an offence have been caught and we don’t understand why,” stated one of the matatu touts.