The NTSA is a body charged with the mandate of managing the transport sub-sector in Kenya while at the same time ensuring reduction in the number of lives lost due to road carnage. The body has been keen on inculcating technology in its activities in a bid to improve efficiency. In 2014, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) announced plans to introduce new generation high-tech number plates. The number plates will come pre-installed with micro-chips allowing for better management of the transport sector.
The smart number plates will store among other information the car’s chassis number, the vehicle’s make, type, colour, engine, transmission, date and place of manufacture; insurance validity, owner’s. NTSA also recently acquired new devices capable of determining the speeds of vehicles in the last 72 hours in a bid to tackle speeding. The devices will also check faulty speed governors in vehicles.
In 2014, NTSA signed a deal with Huawei and local firm Copy Cat to provide the Transport Integrated Management System (Tims). TIMS is a web portal that incorporates all functions of registration, licencing, inspection and enforcement of all motor vehicles and trailers online. The NTSA plans to use TIMS to centralize road transport data and make this data available for public use. In addition, the portal will offer intelligent traffic management by allowing tracking and monitoring of PSVs. The project is currently at a pilot phase with a total of 169 vehicles being used in the pilot.
The project is taking places in phases with the deliverables of phase 1 completed. Knowledge transfer and capacity building for the NTSA team, a key element is currently underway with launch set to take place after. TIMS will be accessed through the eCitizen portal and will incorporate among other modules the IPRS to authenticate user information and registrar of companies owing to public transport Saccos.
