Motorists seeking to use the soon-to-be-launched Nairobi Expressway will not be allowed to pay via M-Pesa service limiting their options to cash and electronic cards.
Highway operators while speaking to Business Daily have announced the decision to delay M-Pesa payments because transactions via cash were seen as quick and “M-Pesa payment would result in traffic congestion at tolling points occasioned by authentication of mobile transactions.”.
“No M-Pesa payment at the moment. It is still in consideration. It will be there in the future,” a spokesperson of Moja Expressway, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation, which built the road, told the Business Daily.
The 27-kilometer expressway that stretches from Mlolongo through Uhuru Highway to the James Gichuru Road junction in Westlands will be operated by Moja Expressway, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) which designed, financed, and constructed the road.
The company has unveiled a discount system to boost card payments for motorists that will load their cards with a minimum of Sh2,000 in toll points as part of a plan to woo more users on the road.
Kenya National Highway Authority deputy director for corporate communication Samwel Kumba said motorists using Electronic Toll Cards on the road will get a five percent discount every time they load their cards with Sh2,000 points.
Road users planning to use Manual Toll Cards will get a two percent discount when they load a minimum of Sh2,000 in points on their cards.
“The discount on both electronic and manual toll cards applies for as long as you are using the road at least for now. However, you must load your card with a minimum of Sh2,000 points,” Mr. Kumba said.
Motorists have either the option of registering to use a manual payment system or installing an automatic payment system, which will allow them to go through tolling stations faster.
Those using manual tolling cards are required to have a national identity card (ID) to register for the card, which will cost Sh300 for installation service charge and at least Sh1,000 must be loaded in points.
Electronic tolling card users will be required to produce an ID and the logbook of the vehicle being registered and pay a Sh1,000 installation service charge and a minimum of Sh2,000 to be loaded onto the card.
Kumba further noted that electronic cardholders who load Ksh.5,000 worth of points will not pay an installation service charge.
The Ministry of Transport last month lifted the Nairobi Expressway’s toll rates by 16 percent to reflect foreign exchange changes for the dollar-denominated charges following the weakening of the Kenyan Shilling.
As it stands, motorists will pay between Sh120-Sh1,800, up from the previous rates of between Sh100-Sh1,550 to use the road.
Boda bodas and tuk-tuks will remain banned on the Nairobi Expressway which is It is set for opening on Saturday, May 14, on a trial basis.
