NTSA allows 43 Modern Coast buses back on road after checks

Passengers who were planning to travel by Modern Coast buses this festive season were a relieved lot on Tuesday after the transport regulator partially lifted a suspension of its operating licence.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), in a letter addressed to Modern Coast management, said it would allow 43 out of the firm’s 74 buses that were taken off the road to resume operations after they passed inspection.

The NTSA also said drivers and conductors attached to the firm complied with its regulations.

“Out of the 74 vehicles presented for inspection, 43 vehicles passed inspection. In view of the above-stated progress, the authority has decided to lift the ban on the 43 vehicles that have passed the inspection,” said Director-General George Njao in a letter dated December 17, whose copy the Business Daily has seen.

The road safety agency further indicated that the remaining vehicles are still ongoing inspection will be cleared once they are deemed to have passed the checks.

NTSA did not, however, indicate what was established during the inspection or the criteria it used to clear the vehicles.

The regulator moved to quell reports doing round that all the vehicles of the bus firm had been allowed back on the road.

NTSA had banned the firm from operating after two of its buses collided in Kiongwani near Salama Market on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway last week, killing seven people.

The accident also left more than 50 passengers injured, 17 of them critically. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Machakos and Makueni.

The suspension had left passengers staring at disruptions, with efforts to claim refunds proving futile.