Ministry of Transport outlines standards for transport buses

The Ministry of Transport yesterday has also announced new standards for buses. The Ministry’s statement says in part quote, “The new standards aim to improve and upgrade commuter buses traversing the highways and villages across the country. The idea is to fully modernise public ground transportation by the end of 2024 and this will be done in a phased approach. The changes will result, says the Ministry, with the modernization of the current fleet by an average of 12 years. In addition, to support the operators with the increased economic investment required, the permit’s period was also extended from two to 10 years, based on the bus age. The road service permit type A will be for premier buses, which will be no older than 10 years old. Class B or the Economy Type are to be no longer than 20 years. Class C is designated for rural with the maximum age of the bus being 25 years. The Ministry adds that the modernization will include full standard operating procedures consisting of a fleet inspection program and upgrades. Operators are expected to update 50% of their fleet by the end of December 2023 and fully upgrade their entire fleet by the end of 2024.