The Nairobi Expressway operator has said they have collected about sh2billion in toll fees since the highway was launched in July last year.
Speaking during an event marking ten million vehicles, the Expressway CEO Steve Zhao said on average people spend Sh200 from one exit point to another and after crossing the 10 million users mark, collections can be approximated at Sh2 billion.
“On average 50,000 vehicles make use of the Expressway every working day which is a five-time increment from the beginning of the trial of the structure in May last year, this shows the increased preference by Kenyans to use the expressway,” said Xhao.
Currently, motorists have three payment options which include the Manual Toll Collection card (MTC), the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) service, as well as cash payment.
The CEO revealed that they have successfully piloted the use of M-pesa for payments of toll charges with the rollout expected soon.
The move is expected to drive more users to the Expressway by increasing the options for payment.
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Kenya National Highway Authority (KENHA) Director General Kung’u Ndung’u, said the expressway has been a game changer in Kenya’s infrastructure offering providing seamless connectivity and decongesting roads in Nairobi.
“We are still working on rehabilitating Mombasa Road, as for pedestrian crossings currently we have three footbridges and we plan to erect three more of these to ease movement,” he said.
“We are looking at how to reorganize the traffic rules on the expressway to get safe movement so as to allow all members of the public to enjoy the road,” Ndung’u added.
The road has 11 tolling stations, 54 toll plazas and 54 cameras along the 27km expressway, with 126 cameras inside the toll plazas.