Matatu operators set to reintroduce cashless fare system

When former President Uhuru Kenyatta and the late Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore used their cards to pay for a matatu ride from state house to KICC after registering for the new cashless payment system for public service vehicles. [File, Standard]

Public transport operators are set to re-introduce the cashless fare payment system that fizzled soon after launch in 2019 owing to operational difficulties.

Calvin Nyaure, chairman of the Cashless Select Committee formed by Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (Namata) and Federation of Public Transport Sector (FPTS), said the operators have resolved outstanding payment issues involving interoperability and the switch payment solutions that prevented an integrated cashless payment system through a common card.