“Am Broke!” Tricks Kenyan Motorists Use Not To Pay Toll Fee On Nairobi Expressway

After noting a unique behavior where some motorists use the road but refuse to pay at the departure point on the pretext that they are broke, the operators of the Nairobi Expressway have been obliged to go back to the drawing board.

The company in charge of the ancient road, Moja Expressway, has began scanning cars at entry points and charging toll costs at vehicle exit points.

However, considerable traffic has been reported at some departure sites, particularly in Mlolongo, as some motorists complain about being broke while they are meant to be paying for the kilometres traveled on the highway.

Others are said to be insistent on paying through mobile money platforms despite being informed that the technique was no longer available.

The operator has recently declared that collateral will be used to alleviate traffic congestion on the elevated highway.

On Wednesday, May 25, a spokeswoman from the corporation told Kenyans.co.ke that the company has detected inconsistencies in the highway’s functioning, which are part of the changes it plans to adopt after the trial period ends.

For example, traffic on the evening of Tuesday, May 24, was caused by some vehicles’ lack of proper payment methods at the highway’s check out.

However, the spokesperson acknowledged that Moja Expressway was considering implementing collateral, which would allow motorists to hand up their goods and only collect them up if their charges were paid.

“We are still on trial period so definitely we are taking note of these issues and what we can do about them. At the entrance, they are reminded they will have to pay using cash.

“They can give a collateral and later on come to pay at the service center,” stated the representative without divulging further details on individual valuables.

Mobile phones, laptops, and other personal things are the most commonly used collateral objects.
The traffic bottleneck on the upper deck of the highway stretched from Syokimau to Mlolongo, a distance of about 5 kilometers, outnumbering vehicles on the lower deck in the same span.

Later, road users expressed their dissatisfaction with the length of time it took to make payments on the Expressway. The 27-kilometer motorway’s exits and entrances have caused bottlenecks, causing traffic jams as motorists line to pay to use the road.

Moja Expressway further indicated that the most desired payment option was the Electronic Toll Collection (ETC), which is a continuous service, in a statement.

The second most popular technique for touch-and-go checkouts is the Manual Toll Collection (MTC) card, which is filled with points.

The cash payment method takes the longest since it needs toll station personnel to repay the amount to clients.