NTSA bans Modern Coast Bus after accident kills seven

What you need to know:

Buses operated by the firm will remain grounded indefinitely, with the agency advising police to impound any of the vehicles found operating contrary to the suspension.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has suspended the operating licence of Modern Coast Bus Express after two of its buses collided in Kiongwani near Salama Market on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway, killing seven people.

Director-General George Njao said Thursday in a statement that buses operated by the firm would remain grounded indefinitely, with the agency advising police to impound any of the vehicles found operating contrary to the suspension.

The move will see the company's 88 buses grounded throughout the Christmas peak season as the NTSA investigates the company's safety standards and operations continue.

“Following the early Thursday morning crash involving two of their buses, the authority has with immediate effect suspended the company's operator's licence and initiated a thorough investigation into its safety standards and operations,” said Mr Njao in the statement yesterday.

The road safety agency said it had made the move after observing that the bus company, which serves western Kenya, the Coast and other destinations in East Africa, and had been involved in many accidents.

Section 34 of the NTSA Act states that the authority may revoke or suspend a licence issued under this law where the licensee fails to comply with a condition for the issuance.

Kiongwani was marked as a blackspot this year and has recorded more than 10 road accidents in the last three weeks.

The accident yesterday left more than 50 passengers injured, 17 of them critically. The injured were rushed to hospitals in Machakos and Makueni counties.