More subsidies needed to end deaths

Most boda boda cyclists do not hold class F and G licences, yet they inconvenience other road users when they cause accidents.

In Likoni, the situation is getting worse. Cyclists do not stop when they hit your car, and instead go off the road and disappear.

They behave in a manner likely to suggest that traffic police do not man roads.

Some even remove motorbikes’ registration number plates.

Police will need to use motorbikes to arrest the unruly cyclists.

For some, riding under the influence of alcohol is no big deal, despite the fact that they risk their lives and those of their passengers. Sanity must be instilled in this mode of transport, since it is a source of livelihood for youth.

{Justin Osey Peter, Mombasa}

The Government initiative to empower the youth by subsidising the cost of motorbikes is encouraging and highly commendable.

More youths should be encouraged to venture into the business. This has also boosted transport network because the bikes access remotest parts of the country.

However, the rate at which such bikes are causing accidents is alarming. Every day we hear of cases of Kenyans losing their lives in such accidents.

We cannot just watch.

It is shocking that most of the cyclists have not undergone any formal training, and actually have no driving licenses.

It is important for the Government to subsidise training for such youths so that they afford to go to driving schools.

This will enable them acquire proper skills and also learn the traffic rules.

Most of them are resorting to informal training, where they hardly learn traffic rules.

{Douglas Mageto, Eldoret}

This is more of a death trap than a mode of transport.

But see the most exposed, that poor Kenyan, who on missing a matatu ride home, cannot afford a taxi.

Life, whether of a poor or a rich individual, is precious. The Government can end, or at worse reduce the deaths caused through boda boda by training those who wish to venture in the business.

Police should check licences routinely to ensure everyone in the business of transporting passengers using bicycles or motorbikes is trained.

The Standard’s coverage of the matter was an eye-opener, and a statement of facts as they are.

{Christine Omolo, Nairobi}