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Kisumu boda bodas have been urged to mobilise themselves in large numbers and get registered within 60 days.
On Monday, the operators turned up for the exercise.
They will be issued with free smart driving licences after the registration.
ICT and Innovation Principal Secretary Jerome Ochieng presided over the registration launch at the huduma centre.
He was accompanied by county commissioner Josephine Ouko.
Ochieng said the National Health Insurance Fund will provide 12 months of medical cover for the first 200,000 licensed boda boda riders countrywide.
The exercise targets to ensure all the riders are registered and issued with smart driving licences.
He said the registration was ongoing in all the 52 huduma centres in the country.
Ochieng said staff at the centres, have been trained to support the exercise.
“The exercise will enable them to have the database of all boda boda operators and ensure the state has their records to help restore sanity in the sector,” Ochieng said.
The PS said there was a designated device used for capturing data, making the registration unique.
“The process takes about five to seven minutes if the rider has all the documents ready. There are no delays,” he said.
Ochieng said the devices being used are top-notch and the infrastructure put in place will help fasten the process.
The PS said the driving licence is a legal requirement for anybody on the road and called on the riders to obey traffic rules.
“Having a driving licence does not warrant you breaking the law. Even after getting the licence, traffic rules must be obeyed,” Ochieng said.
“They should have their helmets, reflectors on and drive on the right side of the road.”
Ochieng said the exercise was geared towards promoting road safety and security for all operators and their clients.
He said the boda boda sub-sector is a source of livelihood for many youths.
There is an estimated more than 1.5 million boda bodas in the country, which directly and indirectly impacts the lives of about 6 million Kenyans, more than 10 per cent of the population.
“This indicates the potential of the sector in positively transforming the livelihoods of Kenyans,” he said.
While there are inherent risks highlighted by the number of lives lost through accidents involving boda bodas, Ochieng said the conceivable benefits far outweigh the risks.
“We are here as part of the nationwide exercise to register qualifying riders and issue the smart licences,” he said.
The exercise targets persons aged 18 years and above who rides a boda boda and ferries passengers, riders who offer transport and logistics services (employed or self-employed) and private motorcycle riders.
In the registration initiative, Ochieng said, each rider within a locality will be linked to a boda boda, its owner and where applicable, to the respective sacco or cooperative society they belong to.
“This will build trust in the services of the registered operators,” he said.
Ochieng said the accidents involving boda boda riders and their clients have more than doubled since 2016, accounting for almost 2,000 deaths last year.
The reforms are aimed at mitigating this negative trend by advocating safe riding habits through training and capacity building of the registered operators.
Ochieng said the government was keen to support the sector through reforms to protect legitimate operators and their clients while weeding out criminal elements hiding among genuine operators.
“To carry out this process, the government has simplified the registration procedure to ensure it is accessible to all,” he said.
Riders are required to present themselves and have an original national ID card, a copy of the KRA PIN and a registered and active phone number.
Ochieng said upon presentation of the requisite documentation, the rider’s facial and biometric details are taken and a notification is sent to the registered mobile number provided, upon processing of the registration information.
“The rider will immediately be issued with a registration certificate that a traffic or law enforcement officer can easily verify through the NTSA mobile application,” he said.
A registered boda boda rider will be issued a smart driving license within 60 days upon the successful processing of their registration information.
This, he said, will bring the sub-sector on board the digital transformation taking place in the transport sector.
He said the streamlined boda boda sub-sector will provide a safe and orderly operating environment for the general public.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
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