Motorists in Nairobi to Pay More for Parking Starting July

Motorists in Nairobi are set to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for parking at the beginning of the month of July.

Governor Mike Sonko had previously reduced parking fees from the then 300 shillings to 200 shillings.

The move to reduce parking fees saw Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) crowded with personal cars that enjoyed the fairly cheap parking.

Nairobi’s low parking fee has been blamed for the numerous traffic jams that have been hitting Kenya’s capital almost daily.

The decision to increase the fees was announced by Finance CEC Charles Kerich who read the county’s budget. According to the CEC, the reduction in parking fees had affected the county’s revenue.

“The reduction in parking fees from 300 shillings to 200 shillings for on street parking was the cornerstone of the amendments last year and the same has drastically reduced revenue collections from daily parking and increased congestion within the CBD,” he said.

The CEC says that there is a huge demand for parking space in Nairobi leading to an influx of vehicles causing congestion within the CBD.

“To solve these twin problems and to test the elasticity of demand for county parking services, I have proposed a review of parking fees with effect from July 1st. The exact details and amounts will be contained in the Finance Bill that will be tabled before this House,” he said.

Previous attempts by the county government to lock public service vehicles from accessing the CBD often hit a dead end. Poor planning and failure to engage all the stakeholders has always been blamed for the failure to decongest the city.

The CEC has, however, not disclosed how much the county will be charging motorists for parking spaces.

In the budget, the county has allocated 134 million shillings to Governor’s beautification program and the greening services. The governor has been leading other workers in planting grass and flowers around the city.

The county has also allocated 371 million shillings for disaster mitigation, prevention and response with the emergency fund receiving 100 million shillings.