Bus Rapid Transit piloting to be rolled out by year-end

A pilot project on the much-awaited Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) will be rolled out between September and December, the Star has established.

Preparations are on course, the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA) CEO Francis Gitau told the Star

BRT will be a reliable mode of commuter transport planned to decongest the central business district, ease transport woes, reduce travel time as well as reduce air pollution.

The Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA) CEO Francis Gitau told the Star that preparations to roll out the project between September and December are on course.

Gitau said "We are on course for piloting on Thika Road. The infrastructure is being done, especially the demarcation of the corridor and the establishment of a bus park."

NaMATA was established by President Uhuru Kenyatta on February 9, 2017. It covers Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Murang’a counties. 

The authority is mandated to establish an integrated, efficient, effective and sustainable public transport system.

The Institute of Transportation and Development Policy says the project will need Sh100 billion to be fully operational.

Traffic snarl-up in the Nairobi metropolis costs the country Sh2 billion annually.

Gitau said five corridors have been identified to decongest Nairobi roads. The corridors are to be marked in red lines.

Line 1 is to run from James Gichuru Road/Waiyaki Way to JKIA, a distance of 20km.

The 31-km line 2 will run from Lang’ata Road to Ngong Road, Juja Road, Komarock Road to Ruiru with major stops at Dandora, Kariobangi and Gikomba Market. 

Line 3 will run from Githurai through Thika Road to Moi Avenue in the CBD, terminating at Kenyatta National Hospital. 

Gitau said the 64 buses ordered from South Africa have to conform to the body-building standards (KS-372) developed by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

"We are not copying from other countries, we are implementing a Kenyan system based on a plan that is modelled on city travel demand."  The model is based on the commuter trips made from the generators of the trips to those attracted by services.

Transport CS James Macharia gazetted a task force to pilot the project on March 22.

Gitau said the task force is operating on four work streams. "The first work stream is on operations and infrastructure while the second is on the formation of bus operating company and transport service contracts." 

The transport service contracts stream defines the service quality standards based on reliability, affordability and safety.

Bus stations were being developed.

"The target stations will be in Kasarani and around Tom Mboya Street so that we have a direct service," the CEO said.

Gitau said the buses are being imported from South Africa because there are no buses locally that meet the standards.

"If we are talking about BRT, then the quality of buses must meet standards.....When you think about lifespan, the buses should be on the roads for 10 to 15 years." 

The buses must be easy to access by children, the elderly, and people with disability. They are fitted with an intelligent transport system as well as a technology that allows for cashless systems. 

The final work stream is transition and communication.

Gitau said massive campaigns will be mounted so that the project is accepted by everybody.

"Once the task force agrees with everything that has been decided, it will go to the board of NaMATA whose chairman is CS Macharia deputised by Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko. Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos and Murang’a governors are the other members," he said.

The project will be run by the private sector after the government has set regulations and standards.

Eleven units of commuter railways will be imported to complement BRT.

Gitau said the Kasarani station may require a ramp - a bridge - on which the buses will turn for their city-bound trips.

He said Tom Mboya will be a good drop-off point. "There will be adequate walkways for pedestrians."