Passengers could get greater access to information on the safety compliance of public service vehicles under proposed changes to Kenya’s transport regulations.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to introduce a formal system for licensing and regulating conformity assessors responsible for checking whether public service vehicle bodies meet prescribed technical standards.
The proposed law, currently at the public participation stage, could provide the basis for a more transparent system in which passengers are able to establish whether a matatu or bus has undergone the required assessment before boarding.
The Bill defines conformity assessment as an evaluation to establish whether specific requirements relating to a motor vehicle have been fulfilled.
A conformity assessor would be responsible for verifying that technical standards have been applied in the design, manufacture and installation of a PSV body.
While the Bill does not specifically require the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to create a passenger-facing verification platform, the proposed regulatory framework opens the door to making compliance information more accessible to the public.
The proposal comes amid concerns from passengers that they have little ability to establish whether the vehicle they are boarding has been properly assessed.
In a submission to the Senate committee on roads chaired by Marsabit legislator Mohamed Chute, petitioner Juma Patrick Kurwa called for a system that would allow travellers to enter or scan a vehicle's registration number and establish whether it has a valid conformity assessment and other regulatory approvals.
“For example, a passenger should be able to enter or scan a vehicle's registration number and establish whether the vehicle has a valid conformity assessment and other relevant regulatory approvals,” said Kurwa.
He added that such a system could be delivered through an application, USSD, website or SMS, giving passengers a simple way of checking the regulatory status of a vehicle before travel.
The Bill gives NTSA powers to prescribe the criteria for conformity assessments and requires the Authority to designate conformity assessors every three years. It also provides for periodic audits of assessors to ensure compliance with the law.
The assessors would be required to operate independently from businesses involved in the design, manufacture, supply, installation, purchase, ownership or maintenance of the vehicle components they inspect.
NTSA would also be required to ensure that assessors are not linked to persons involved in those activities before issuing licences. The licences would be valid for three years.
The proposed separation of assessment from vehicle manufacturing and ownership is intended to address concerns over potential conflicts of interest in the current system.
The Bill's memorandum of objects says there is currently no legal provision specifically regulating the assessment of public service vehicles.
It says assessments have been conducted through the Kenya Association of Bus Manufacturers, whose membership includes PSV owners, creating a potential conflict of interest.
For passengers, however, the effectiveness of the new framework could ultimately depend on whether compliance information becomes visible beyond regulators, assessors and vehicle owners.
The passenger submission argues that a certificate should represent an actual safety assessment rather than simply completion of paperwork.
It also calls for an accessible complaints mechanism through which passengers can report suspected structural defects, unsafe doors and exits, defective safety equipment, overcrowding and vehicles suspected of being improperly certified.
The proposed system would require assessors to submit technical reports to NTSA after completing assessments, creating an additional regulatory record that could potentially support greater transparency in the PSV sector.
