The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has announced that the second cohort of its Public Transport Professionalisation and Capacity Building Programme will commence training across three counties from September 28 to October 1, 2026. The training targets PSV drivers and operators in Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, and Trans-Nzoia counties. This programme aims to professionalise PSV drivers and strengthen compliance to reduce road traffic crashes across the sector.
NTSA director general Nashon Kondiwa confirmed that the training will cover both PSV drivers and the operators who employ them. The authority says lasting road safety improvement cannot rest on drivers alone, and operators and SACCOs share equal responsibility in cultivating a safety culture. The programme has been designed to address the behavioural, vehicular, and operational factors that contribute to preventable crashes.
The programme is structured around eight training modules for drivers, which include professional conduct, defensive driving, hazard perception, vehicle safety checks, fuel-efficient driving, legal compliance, digital systems, and emergency response procedures. Operators and SACCO management will undergo a separate but complementary stream covering strategic leadership, governance, fleet management, financial performance, and customer service improvement.
Each participating operator will be required to develop a 90-day improvement plan as part of a capstone assessment. According to Kondiwa, this will improve compliance with traffic laws, licensing, roadworthiness, insurance, passenger-safety standards, and other statutory obligations across the sector. The programme also aims to produce safety champions and qualified trainers embedded within transport companies and SACCOs.
Beyond individual skill development, NTSA says the initiative is intended to produce safety champions and qualified trainers embedded within transport companies and SACCOs, ensuring that improvements outlast the initial training cohorts. The authority also intends to use insights gathered during the sessions to inform a review of the PSV (Operations) Regulations, 2014, and the wider licensing framework currently governing public service vehicles in Kenya.
The first cohort of the programme concluded successfully before the September 28 rollout, though NTSA has not disclosed which counties were covered in that initial phase. The programme forms part of a longer-term structural agenda, which includes operator consolidation, contract-based service delivery models, and integrated fare systems across the public transport sector.
The training programme is expected to enhance road safety and compliance with traffic laws in the targeted counties. With the second cohort set to commence on September 28, 2026, NTSA is moving forward with its plans to professionalise the PSV sector and reduce road traffic crashes.
Key points
- NTSA to train PSV drivers and operators in Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, and Trans-Nzoia counties from September 28, 2026.
- The programme aims to professionalise PSV drivers and strengthen compliance to reduce road traffic crashes.
- The training will cover both PSV drivers and operators, with a focus on behavioural, vehicular, and operational factors contributing to preventable crashes.
