Bonface Kanyamwaya , a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, has more than 10 years of financial, economy , business, markets and aviation expertise, providing insights into Kenya and global trends.

Kenyan boda boda riders can now get fully licensed to ride and carry passengers in major roads by paying KSh 100 daily.

This is after transport sector stakeholders joined hands in efforts to reduce road carnage involving motorbike riders and pillion passengers.

According tothe National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) reports, Kenya has been experiencing a huge number of road fatalities mainly caused by motorcycle riders.

These deaths and accidents are attributed to lack of knowledge of road safety tips by majority boda boda riders who barely have driving licenses.

The Automobile Association of Kenya and NTSA, through an initiative dubbed Licence na Mia have significantly subsidised the cost of training motorbike riders on riding, road safety, defensive driving and response to emergencies as a measure of reducing road carnage.

Featuring in the National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028, the initiative aims to have at least one million boda boda riders operating without licenses across Kenyan roads trained and licensed.

understands that at least 500 riders who enrolled to the initiative and committed to pay KSh 100 every day for 61 days have successfully completed training and are licensed.

"Majority boda boda riders are youthful men straight from high school. They get into the transport sector informally through peer-to-peer training and end up operating without requisite road users' licenses thus increasing the risk of being involved in avoidable road incidents," AA CEO Francis Theuri explained.

He divulged that the high cost of getting compliant had made the young riders shun driving schools and other road safety courses.

"Most of them resort to paying KSh 50 or KSh 100 bribes to county authorities for not being compliant, further fanning the vice of corruption.

"We found out that instead of risking their lives by operating in our roads without safety training, we better offer them an opportunity to pay KSh 100 daily for training rather than bribes, so that after 61 days they'll be compliant, making our roads safety and overcoming harassment by authorities," Theuri explained.

Motorbike riders need KSh 8,000 for training and KSh 2,450 for NTSA training and licensing, an amount that has been perceived as prohibitive.

In response to the challenge, AA has subsidised training from KSh 8,000 to KSh 3000.

Riders will be able to pay the KSh 3000 and 2,450 NTSA fees through daily installments of KSh 100.

Theuri disclosed that 2,000 boda boda riders who enrolled in the programme with graduate and get licensed on March 28,2025..

The graduands will receive helmets, certificates a d reflector jackets during the ceremony.

The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) economic report in 2024 showed a decline in boda boda and motor vehicle industry by 3.1% in the previous year.

The number of newly registered motor vehicles, auto and motorcycles declined by 16.7% to 195,656 in 2023.

Source: TUKO.co.ke