This comes as Kenya is facing a road safety “crisis,” with the National Police Service indicating that at least 31 deaths were recorded in the initial six days of January 2026 alone.
Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura explained, “The ban is meant to ensure the learners’ safety in the most dangerous hours of the day. The learners travel in early morning and late evenings, and this puts their safety and security at stake.”
The new operating window will help prevent school buses being on the roads when drivers are least able to cope. That will be when visibility is poor.
Since late December last year, more than 40 people have lost their lives in major accidents on highways and roads in the country. The number of deaths on highways has been particularly alarming due to multiple accidents with high casualty figures.
Nine people lost their lives as a result of a pre-dawn road accident that occurred on the Nairobi/Nakuru highway involving a Green Line bus and a Nissan matatu on January 5. Just a day later, a Uwezo Sacco bus collided with a trailer along the Londiani/Muhoroni road in Kericho County, resulting in the death of six people and injuring 46 others.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) indicated a total of 4,458 people lost their lives in road accidents in 2025, a significant rise from 4,311 in 2024.
According to the authorities, all kinds of road accidents that happen along this road are preventable, with reckless driving, speeding, driver fatigue, and drunk driving being the major causes.
In the crackdown, the government has called on citizens to report irresponsible drivers through the NTSA hotline number 0709 932 000, as well as through social media sites by posting pictures and videos of traffic offenders.
NTSA has also begun forcing retests on drivers who are found violating traffic regulations and intensified surveillance at spots where accidents frequently occur. The limitations imposed on the operating hours of school buses are also an effort to ensure the safety of learners and the reduction of road accident casualties, whose numbers continue to rise in the country.
