A standoff between operators of City Hoppa and Double M Saccos and Super Metro buses caused a standstill in the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) on Thursday, March 2.
Drivers from the two saccos parked their vehicles across the road on City Hall Way to block buses from the Super Metro from accessing the Kencom and Ambassador bus stops.
This disrupted traffic flow within the CBD and left commuters who use the buses from the two bus companies stranded.
An official from the Super Metro company claimed that the row was over pick-up point the operator had been awarded.
“They are protesting because we had been awarded two stages, one at the ambassador and the other at Kencom by Nairobi City council,” he stated.
In addition, he claimed that the drivers and the two rival companies were unhappy with them pitching camp in routes that were predominantly theirs.
“We launched new routes, town to Kawangware through Valley Road and town to the Kenyatta National Hospital through Upper Hill,” the marshall explained.
Nonetheless, he disputed claims that Super Metro had been awarded pick-up points that belonged to other fleets and maintained that none of the other bus companies was asked to vacate from either stage.
Nairobi City County enforcement officers and traffic police officers arrived at the scene to clear the traffic jam and restore normalcy.
The protest came amid Super Metro’s rapid expansion, introducing more routes and buses with its growing popularity.
Within two years, the operator which initially plied the Nairobi-Kikuyu and Nairobi-Juja, Thika Routes, expanded to Ngong and Kitengela.
The firm also introduced long-distance travel to Western Kenya and, from December 2002, Nairobi-Busia-Kampala.
