Boda boda operators have warned against the passage of the proposed Public Transport (Motorcycle Regulation) Bill (Senate Bill No. 38 of 2023). They said if passed, millions of families will be pushed deeper into poverty and bring chaos to one of the country’s most vital economic lifelines.

It is estimated that in Kenya, boda boda (motorcycle taxi) riders are estimated to earn a collective Sh1 billion daily, and the sector contributes an estimated Sh6 billion annually in fuel taxes. “The sector contributes substantially to the Kenyan economy with a boda Boda rider getting an average of Sh1,000 a day. From the reports and what we have seen there is immense potential in this space,” said Vijay Gidoomal, CEO of Car & General.

According to the Bill, its objective is to tame the sector, which is branded as “chaotic”

While appearing before the Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure yesterday, Boda Boda Safety Association of Kenya (BAK) condemned the Bill, sponsored by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale., It noted that it is disconnected from the realities of daily survival for thousands of the youth and women who earn their living one trip at a time.

“This Bill doesn’t bring safety—it brings suffering. It doesn’t protect livelihoods—it threatens to wipe them out,” said BAK President Kevin Mubadi, calling the proposed law a deliberate attempt to criminalise and commodify poverty. At the heart of the association’s objections are the mounting costs and complicated bureaucracy that the Bill seeks to impose—on riders who are already living hand to mouth, hustling through long hours.

Among its most controversial provisions is the creation of 47 county-level Motorcycle Transport and Safety Boards, despite the existence of a national body—the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)—already tasked with overseeing road safety and rider registration.

Riders would also be forced to register afresh at county level, duplicating what already exists on the NTSA digital platform a factor that the association sees as not only wasteful, but an avenue for harassment, extortion, and chaos.

Part of a Sacco

 “Why are we being asked to register again, to pay again, to verify again? This is not regulation. This is punishment. It’s taking the little we earn and giving it to bureaucrats and cartels,” said Mubadi.

The Bill also proposes that every rider must be part of a Sacco, a move BAK says strips riders of their freedom of association and could easily lock out the poorest from operating.

“We are not against organization —but it must be voluntary, not forced. This is how cartels begin. This is how dreams are killed,” said Mubadi.  Additionally, the Bill, according to BAK demands that motorcycles be fitted with GPS tracking devices, that sellers supply helmets and jackets of specific colours, and that formal employment contracts be drawn between riders and motorcycle owners.

These requirements, BAK argues, will drive up costs, benefit politically connected suppliers, and further entrench corruption, while creating uncertainties in the industry.

 “We are barely surviving as it is. Now you want to make us pay for trackers, for coloured jackets, for registration twice over, for approvals we don’t need? This is not regulation—it is exploitation wearing the mask of policy,” Mubadi argued.

The Bill seeks to limit loads carried on the bikes to 50kg, a move Mubadi says threatens to cut off remote communities from markets, deliveries, and essential transport.

“A sack of maize weighs more than 90kg. This law would criminalise the transport of food. It would harm farmers, kill small businesses, and starve rural Kenya,” BAK warned.

 With regards to formal employment contracts, another clause in the Bill, the association highlights that the vast majority of riders operate on informal agreements that allow flexibility in an uncertain economy and that forcing them into rigid contracts, would destroy the very structure that allows many of them to work in the first place.

 BAK also rejected proposals to devolve regulation of motorcycle transport exclusively to counties, saying this would contradict the NTSA Act and lead to confusion, duplication, and inconsistent enforcement across the country.   “This Bill isn’t fixing anything. It’s a solution in search of a problem—and it risks undoing years of progress by burying riders under red tape, fees, and fear,” said Mubadi.

Calling for a complete overhaul of the proposed law, BAK urged Parliament to halt the process and initiate a stakeholder-led conversation to improve the Traffic and NTSA Acts—without penalising the riders.

“The boda boda sector is not a threat. We are not criminals. We are fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters. We are job creators and community builders. This Bill is a betrayal of our efforts, our struggles, and our contribution to the economy,” said Mubadi.