The government suspended the crackdown on all Public Service Vehicles after some matatu owners called for a strike that was to start on March 16.
The crackdown was called off following a sit down with the National Police Service, National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and the Federation for Public Transport Sector (FPTS) on Wednesday.
“It is agreed that the ongoing multi-agency crackdown on non-compliant public transport vehicles has been suspended,” a statement said.
They also agreed that the federation of public transport will be represented in future multi-agency operations.
“The public transport sector forms an integral part in the socio-economic development of our country by easing business and the movement of people and goods,” the statement read in part.
The stakeholders present for the meeting included the FPTS chairman Edwin Mukabana, Deputy Inspector General Edward Mbugua and the Director-General NTSA George Njau.
This comes a day after the federation warned NTSA to stop all the unwarranted traffic checks, threatening to call for a strike on Wednesday.
The matatu operators established that the sector has not yet fully recovered from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and that the checks are digging into their pockets, slowing their profit buildup.
The federation had issued the warning two weeks after negotiations between the FPTS and NTSA failed to strike a deal.
However, on Wednesday morning before the government announced the suspension, vehicles were still on the road.
Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai denied claims of any intended strike planned for Wednesday.
Kimutai says he is not privy to any planned strike and his members were not planning to withdraw their services.
“If they really wanted the strike to happen, Kimutai should have been consulted because I know how to do it,” he noted.
