Swvl, Little Shuttle Services Suffer Setback, Operations Termed Illegal
The National Safety and Transport Authority has blacklisted Swvl and Little shuttle for engaging in commuter service business within Nairobi contrary to its licence.
Director General Francis Meja said the two hailing app companies are not registered with the National Transport and Safety as required by Section 26 of the Transport and Safety Act No. 33 of 2012.
“The authority has noted that Little Shuttle and Swvl operate vehicles contrary to the provisions of the PSV regulations. The vehicles under these hailing app companies have acquired a Tours Service Licence (TSL) but are engaging in commuter service within Nairobi, therefore, contravening the terms of the Tour Service License (TSL),” he said.
In response, Kamal Budhabhatti, Craftsilicon founder said, “I have no quarrel with the authorities. They are doing their job as per what is listed in their bible. However, I would have appreciated that they open a dialogue with technology companies like us on hw to work together and change the face of public transportation in our country.”
Little, taxi-hailing service Little powered by Safaricom, rolled out its shuttle bus service eight months ago. The shuttles allow riders to book a seat and board the 33 seater minibuses at specific times of the day.
On the other hand, Egyptian bus-hailing service Swvl launched in Kenya in February 2019. In September, it announced Ksh 1.5 billion for expanding its Kenyan operations.
