Government and Policy

Nairobi County Government Plans To Increase Parking Fees

BY Getrude Mathayo · April 25, 2023 01:04 pm

KEY POINTS

“We will be billing hourly meaning that the more you stay in CBD, the more you pay. This will increase the parking revenue and discourage congestion,” said Nyamu.

Nairobi motorists should brace for tough times ahead following the Nairobi county government’s proposal to raise parking fees in the Central Business Centre, CBD, from the current 200 shillings to 650 shillings a day.

The move was revealed by Chief Officer Mobility Boniface Nyamu who said that they have drafted a policy that will see city motorists pay for parking hourly.

The proposed increase, which amounts to a staggering 225 percent rise, is among the measures the county government of Nairobi will rely on to increase revenue collection.

“We have seen that especially in CBD, the demand for parking is high than the supply. We have proposed in the next financial bill to increase the amount of money that one pays for parking. We will be billing hourly meaning that the more you stay in CBD, the more you pay. This will increase the parking revenue and discourage congestion,” Mr Nyamu said.

For someone who works in the CBD five days a week, the increase in parking fees from 200 shillings to 650 shillings per day would amount to a substantial monthly cost increase from 4,000 shillings to 13,000 shillings.

In addition to the proposed daily rate increase, the county also plans to introduce an hourly rate of 100 shillings for the first hour and 50 shillings for every subsequent hour.

Nairobi County Chief Officer of Mobility Boniface Nyamu said these are part of the efforts by the county government to increase revenue for the next financial year

“We will be billing hourly meaning that the more you stay in CBD, the more you pay. This will increase the parking revenue and discourage congestion,” said Nyamu.

He was making a presentation to the Transport and Public Works committee at city hall on the plans that the department has to increase the parking revenue in the next financial year 2023/2024 which begins in July.

Transport and Transport and Public Works chairman Mark Ronaldo, who is also the Umoja 1 MCA, challenged the proposal arguing that it will lead to higher costs for city residents who drive to work.

“We do not want to be in a situation where someone takes us to court over the increase in the parking fees. We, therefore, suggest that we have a cap of Sh400 a day for parking within the CBD because this has failed several times,” Mr. Ronaldo said.