The Boda Boda Affiliation of Kenya has vowed to stage a nationwide strike if the Public Transport (Bike Regulation) Invoice, 2023, is handed into regulation. The proposed invoice goals to curb reckless using, improve highway security, and introduce stricter trade rules, however riders argue that some provisions are impractical and will put them out of enterprise.
The invoice, sponsored by Senator Bonny Khalwale, was debated within the Senate in January 2025 however should nonetheless move via the Nationwide Meeting and obtain presidential assent earlier than turning into regulation. If enacted, it might introduce sweeping modifications to Kenya’s boda boda trade, which has over 2 million bikes in operation and generates an estimated KES 1 billion ($7.7 million) day by day, supporting 1.4 million households.
Key provisions and controversies
The proposed regulation introduces strict operational tips, together with:
- Formal employment: Boda boda homeowners should rent licensed riders below formal contracts
- Obligatory protecting gear: Riders and passengers should put on helmets and reflective vests.
- Passenger limits: Just one passenger is allowed per journey.
- Cargo restrictions: Bikes can’t carry passengers with heavy masses.
- Industrial insurance coverage and monitoring: All bikes used for public transport should have industrial insurance coverage and be fitted with monitoring units, a requirement riders strongly oppose.
The monitoring requirement is unpopular amongst boda boda riders, who worry authorities surveillance and elevated operational prices.
The regulation additionally imposes steep fines and potential jail time for violators.
- Visitors violations: Using on pavements, pedestrian walkways, or towards visitors on one-way streets will appeal to a KES 20,000 ($154) positive, six months in jail, or each.
- Felony legal responsibility for passengers’ crimes: If a boda boda rider knowingly transports a passenger planning to commit against the law, they are going to share obligation except they’d no affordable means of figuring out. Critics argue that this clause is simply too obscure and will result in unfair arrests.
- Intimidation and violence: Riders who gang as much as threaten or assault others, particularly after an accident, face a KES 100,000 ($772) positive, one 12 months in jail, or each.
The Boda Boda Affiliation of Kenya argues that the invoice is discriminatory and unrealistic, warning that it might cripple an trade that hundreds of thousands depend on for employment.
Riders additionally declare the invoice favours company gamers and app-based platforms whereas marginalizing casual operators. Some have known as for the federal government to subsidize insurance coverage prices and provide coaching packages as an alternative of implementing punitive measures.
Authorities’s place: Cracking down on Boda Boda chaos
Supporters of the invoice argue that it’s essential to revive order on Kenyan roads. Boda bodas have been linked to 1000’s of highway accidents yearly, with authorities information displaying they contributed to over 4,000 fatalities in 2023 alone.
The talk over boda boda regulation has lengthy been politically delicate. In 2022, whereas campaigning for the presidency, William Ruto urged police to ease crackdowns on boda boda riders, acknowledging the trade’s financial significance.
If Ruto’s authorities helps the invoice, it might alienate a key voter base, however opposing it might sign tolerance for dysfunction. Because the invoice strikes to the Nationwide Meeting, it stays to be seen whether or not the federal government will push for amendments or assist it as is.
