Written By Mary Mumbua 📝
Motorists seeking to use the Nairobi Expressway beginning this Saturday will be unable to pay using M-Pesa, limiting their options to cash and electronic cards.
According to officials, the decision to postpone M-Pesa payments was made because cash transactions were perceived to be faster, and “M-Pesa payment would result in traffic congestion at tolling points.”
“There is currently no M-Pesa payment. It is still being considered. It will be there in the future,” said a spokesperson for Moja Expressway, a subsidiary of China Road and Bridge Corporation that constructed the road.
Millions of Kenyans use mobile money to pay for the majority of their services, and the delay in including it in the payment options will limit motorists who want to use the road without using cash or cards.
As part of a plan to attract more users on the road, the company has unveiled a discount system to boost card payments for motorists who will load their cards with a minimum of Sh2,000 in toll points.
According to Samwel Kumba, the Kenya National Highway Authority’s deputy director for corporate communication, motorists who use Electronic Toll Cards on the road will receive a 5% 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 told the Business Daily query on Tuesday.
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 an Sh1,000 installation service charge and a minimum of Sh2,000 to be loaded onto the card.
Motorists under the same category planning to use the road when it will be opened for public use starting Saturday who load their points with Sh5,000 in toll points will not pay an installation service charge.
“Road users can also pay via cash to use the road depending on the size of the vehicle,” he said.
The Sh88 billion expressway will be opened Wednesday morning depending on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s calendar. It links Mlolongo to the Nairobi-Nakuru highway via Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Motorists will pay between Sh120-Sh1,800, up from the previous rates of between Sh100-Sh1,550 to use the road.
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