Macharia Gaitho put it pretty bluntly today in his article named Knee-jerk and ad hoc solutions will never reduce road carnage in Kenya Some bureaucrats at the Police Headquarters, the Ministry of Transport and some nascent outfit called the National Transport and Safety Authority must be busy celebrating their great achievement in dramatically reducing road accident deaths over the festive season. Read on:- http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Ad-hoc-solutions-will-never-reduce-road... We are replacing planning, policy formulation and enforcement with roadside edicts.. Ali Hussein +254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113 "I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein Sent from my iPad
On Jan 7, 2014, at 1:12 PM, James Mbugua <jgmbugua@gmail.com> wrote:
One of the most ridiculous and unconstitutional things I've ever heard, is enforced cashless payments.
Is the Kenya Shilling not legal tender? Is it not the right of a business owner to dictate payment terms?
This one for paying matatus electronically cannot be successfully enforced anywhere in the world let alone Kenya where it would be thrown out at the court of first instance.
James
On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 10:24 AM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote: Ali,
This is our 'leadership curse'. A key person walks to Dubai, sees a well oiled transport system using electronic tickets and in short-order a declaration is made that in so many months, our transport system will be digitized and cashless.
What we fail to look at is what needs to be done in between to get the results we want. What we call Product Development ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_product_development ) in Software
We just want results!
On an aside, do you guys think that a 5-year election cycle is long enough to achieve realistic growth. I sometime do feel that, between the time a new government checks in and the time between when they stop thinking development and start thinking elections again is too short. For us, that's around 2.5yrs
Regards
On Tue, Jan 7, 2014 at 5:32 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote: Listers
Lost in all this discussion about safety and payment systems in public transport is that:-
1. Any country worth its salt and geared for growth prioritizes public transport as a critical resource for growth.
2. In most of the 'developed' world public transport is not left entirely to the vagaries of private enterprise. These are concessions that are tendered out every 5-10 years and the winner(s) of the concession is subject to clear QoS standards and fares are preset by both the Govt and the concessionaire. The UK has done this pretty successfully.
3. A look at Dubai will tell you that the RTA (Road Transport Authority) owns and manages the Metro, the Taxis and the buses which have an interoperable payment system. And the system works like a well oiled machine.
The million dollar question is whether we have the political will to overhaul our mass transport systems.
Over the holidays my sister and her kids insisted they wanted to go to Mombasa via train. I asked them severally if they were sure about this. After an argument of pros and cons we finally bought them tickets and they embarked on their 'adventure'. A number of things stood out for me:-
1. The road leading to the train station could be categorized more as the surface of the moon than a road. 2. The train station is like it is in a time capsule circa 1985 when I used to go via train from Mombasa to Nairobi to boarding school. I swear to God that the station has not improved one bit. It's like it was when the British built it!! 3. Lastly it took my family 24 hours (yes 24 hours!!) to reach Mombasa when it took me about 11 hours in 1985!!
I'm not saying that this talk about payment systems and interoperability isn't progress but..
Are we putting the cart before the horse?? Are we band aiding a cancer when what we need is chemotherapy?
Just saying..
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
On Jan 6, 2014, at 9:14 PM, Baiju Shah <baiju@tele2media.com> wrote:
Hi All,
Very interesting discussion on new policy, in fact the government should consider the implementation of a single standard for payments like ITSO in the UK to provide interoperability between different modes of transport. e.g. If I use the train, matatu to get to work I should be able to buy or load a ticket on to a card, mobile phone or any other, which could be easily accepted by the different modes of transport operators.
This will also enable some amount of regulation and discipline within the modal transport operators who could be measured on quality of service. This could also include behaviour on the road. Simple matrix could be developed, to provide the quality of transport that is available in many cities around the world. This also is away to ensure that the government is able to assure safety, in return be able to collect taxes to improve facilities for the commuters that could include footpaths and proper rest areas etc.
Furthermore, not too sure of the fleet management aspect of the policy as this is something that individual companies can choose to implement, is open to manipulation, this will not guarantee that the different companies are meeting their stated KPI's, and there is no way you can penalise the PSV it could be too late, additionally, all PSV drivers need to retest and get issued with proper driving licences that are not subject to fraud as a part of the regulation of the sector.
There are many points that could be discussed, the important point is there is action being taken and if there is help required in thinking through the various policies and if it is going to make the daily commute easy we are here to help and advice.
Thanks
Best Regards, Baiju Shah Telemedia Africa Ltd Tel. 0787332247 / 0701691570
On 5 Jan 2014, at 19:29, kictanet-request@lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote:
Send kictanet mailing list submissions to kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to kictanet-request@lists.kictanet.or.ke
You can reach the person managing the list at kictanet-owner@lists.kictanet.or.ke
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Re: PSVs required to fit cameras, implement cashless payment, and fleet management systems (Mark Mwangi) 2. Re: PSVs required to fit cameras, implement cashless payment, and fleet management systems (Watila Alex) 3. Re: PSVs required to fit cameras, implement cashless payment, and fleet management systems (kris njoroge)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1 Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2014 17:58:02 +0300 From: Mark Mwangi <mwangy@gmail.com> To: Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] PSVs required to fit cameras, implement cashless payment, and fleet management systems Message-ID: <CAH5fjchpP=MpWeZHUEu1_q35_dpvCse9r5P4icuWPVHE-9uGsw@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
I agree with the scheduling bit though i don't see how this can be divorced from the fares. I still insist transport should be primarily a govt affair. If not by ownership then by strict regulation inclusive of setting of fares, just like in Energy. if let loose we have the likes of Enron and our matatu culture as is. Some sectors cannot be left to market forces because market forces are largely an idyllic situation and manipulated to the core.
On Sun, Jan 5, 2014 at 2:15 PM, Ngigi Waithaka <ngigi@at.co.ke> wrote:
Digital Speed Governors aka Tachographs are a good idea.
We could start with that, get matatus on regular timed schedules, then start selling electronic tickets for day, week & month, yearly. This you pay for using Mpesa etc, but spot fares should be in cash.
Waithaka Ngigi
Alliance Technologies Nairobi, Kenya
www.A1.io > On 5 Jan 2014 13:21, "Kivuva" <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com> wrote: > > A new law to regulate the public transport has been put in place and > will take effect by June 2014 where > 1. All PSVs must implement cashless paymeny system for bus fare > 2. All PSVs to be fit with fleet management systems where overspeeding > will be checked from system logs, not on speed cameras > 3. All PSVs to have surveillance cameras to reduce carjackings, petty > crimes, and terrorism > 4. Install digital speed governors > > This will see Beba Pay and Mpesa fight for supremacy. I'm keen to see > what card Safaricom has on it's deck. This is a great opportunity for > payment system innovators to comeup with exciting products, and also > for fleet management system companies to have regular work. The > commuters on the other hand will dig dipper in their pockets to pay > for the services. > > And finally, the government has a way of collecting taxes on the Ksh > 205 Billion industry > > > http://mobile.nation.co.ke/business/New-law-on-technology-to-transform-PSV-s... > > -- > ______________________ > Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya > twitter.com/lordmwesh > kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngigi%40at.co.ke > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >
_______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mwangy%40gmail.com
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
-- Regards,
Mark Mwangi
markmwangi.me.ke