Sakaja officially opens Green Park Terminus to public

Piece by: Manny Anyango

01 December 2022

• Sakaja stated that daily improvements will be made to the terminus to ensure a seamless experience.

• Passengers from Nyanza, Western and parts of the Rift Valley will be picking up and dropping off at the Green Park Terminus.

On Thursday, December 1, 2022 Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has officially opened the Green Park Terminus.

Sakaja stated that daily improvements will be made to the terminus to ensure a seamless experience.

"The Green Park Terminal is up and running. Great kickoff and collaboration by the long distance Sacco’s. Passengers are enjoying the facility as well as the shuttles we’ve provided into the CBD. We will keep improving it everyday to ensure a seamless experience," he said.

The County boss said that for now all SACCOs coming in through Waiyaki Way will drop off passengers at Green Park.

"For now all SACCOs coming in through Waiyaki Way will drop off passengers at Green Park and have the option of using either Green Park or their current points in the CBD as we put up booking offices for them," Governor Sakaja said.

The move is part of measures to decongest the CBD.

In a notice by acting Nairobi county secretary Jairus Musumba, consultations held between the county and Matatu operators and owners resulted in a decision that long-distance PSVs be relocated.

"It was resolved that effective December 1, all PSVs Saccos and PSV companies offering services between Nyanza, Western, North Rift, South Rift, and Central Rift who are currently operating from Nairobi's CBD will be relocated to the Green Park Terminus in the 1st Phase," the notice read.

However, the High court temporarily stopped their move to the Green Park terminus.

On Wednesday, Justice Hedwig Ong’udi ruled that the status quo should remain until December 13 when the case filed by the Matatu Owners will be mentioned.

In the case, North Rift Luxury Shuttle, Madaraka Prestige, Transline, Great Rift Shuttle, Legacy Luxury, Kina 2015 Classic, Sasaline Classic Shuttle, Blue line, Team Swat and Transliner Galaxy moved to court challenging Sakaja's directive.

Through Lawyer Wycliffe Omayio, they claim that on November 18 Sakaja informed them that they will move from their current locations to the new terminus beginning December 1.

The Sh250 million bus terminus was initially constructed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services for use by PSVs plying Lang'ata and Ngong Road routes.

The reopening stalled despite retired President Uhuru Kenyatta inspecting it three times last year, ahead of the commissioning.

Green Park is among six other termini that NMS set up for Sh350 million to be the official pick-up and drop-off points once matatus are barred from entering the CBD.

Others include Desai, Park Road, Ladhies Muthurwa, Fig Tree and Bunyala-Workshop Road.

Green Park is the biggest and is said to have a capacity to accommodate 20,000 matatus daily and at least 100 at any given time.

The first attempt to open the terminal was in December 2020, when NMS announced it was ready but went on to postpone it.

According to the then NMS director general Mohammed Badi, construction designs and consultation with stakeholders were among some of the challenges that caused a delay in the completion of the terminus.

NMS had also said construction of the Nairobi Expressway contributed to the delay.