- Kenya, according to the Institute of Economic Affairs, loses over Sh50 million daily in traffic jams.
- The state has been rolling out several roads projects in her bid to decongest the city.
The massive expansion of roads within the city will not end traffic jams, planners have said.
Town and County Planners Associations chairman Mairura Omwenga on Wednesday said decongesting the city needs a comprehensive approach.
"If you just expand motorways, more people will buy cars. The rate at which people are buying cars surpasses the rate of expansion," he said.
Nairobi has a population of about four million people, 70 per cent of whom are dependent on public transport.
Kenya, according to the Institute of Economic Affairs loses, over Sh50 million daily in traffic jams.
Omwenga said lack of a functioning and efficient public transport system has made matters worse.
He said more people were opting to acquire personal cars as a result.
"People will buy used cars because there is no alternative," he said, adding that Kenya's public transport system has collapsed.
Omwenga said the way the matatu sector is being run is inefficient.
He said the government should introduce cheaper commuter transport.
"The public transport system must be improved and should be a public good just like schools. The state must be involved in regulation and provision of a conducive environment," he said.
Omwenga said public transport must be subsidised by the state to be efficient and reliable.
"Passengers should be assured that the bus or train will come at a given time and leave at a given time whether there are passengers or not. Our matatus will wait until they are full."
Omwenga said there should be properly integrated town planning. He said town proper town planning had not been done from 1973 up to 2015.
The state has however announced plans to introduce Mass Rapid Transit as one way to end traffic gridlocks.
Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority CEO Francis Gitau said the state is set to acquire at least 10 acres near Kasarani Sports Centre for the BRT. The acquisition will be for a park as well as a bus depot.
In November 2019, the government floated the BRT tender, saying it intended to improve the infrastructure of the Thika Superhighway to accommodate the project.
A Chinese firm known as Stecol Corporation secured the Sh5.6 billion contract to construct special lanes for high-capacity buses in July.
The buses are to operate between Thika Superhighway and Nairobi CBD and Kenyatta National Hospital.
The BRT is expected to offer cheaper, reliable and safe transport for the 4.5 million city dwellers.
The government has identified five corridors in its bid to decongest Nairobi roads.
Line 1 is to run from the James Gichuru Road and Waiyaki Way junction to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, a distance of 20km.
The 31km Line 2 will run from Lang’ata Road to Ngong Road, Juja Road, Komarock Road to Ruiru with major stops at Dandora, Kariobangi and the Gikomba market.
Line 3 will run from Githurai through Thika Road to Moi Avenue in the CBD, terminating at Kenyatta National Hospital.
The state has also been rehabilitating the meter gauge railway within the city. Kenya Railways targets to serve up to 230,000 passengers daily.
A fleet of the new commuter rail buses has also been introduced to connect passengers to various destinations.
Kenya Railways recently imported second-hand Diesel Multiple Units with a life span of 25 years to move Nairobi railway passengers from about 300,000 a month to three million.
The train units (10 double and one triple) were sold to KRC for about Sh1.17 billion.
Omwenga said the number of people coming to the CBD can be reduced by having commercial centres near residential areas. He said there should be effective development control.
Another town planner Lawrence Esho said the Nairobi Expressway under construction will help reduce jams within the city.
"If the economy improves, more people will buy cars. The urban commuter rail will also help particularly in Eastlands," Esho said.
More cars are being imported even as the state expands the infrastructure. There is significant year-on-year growth in the automotive industry, with the number of newly registered vehicles increasing by more than 10 per cent since 2017, according to Economic Survey 2020.
A report released by the UN Environment Programme in October showed that more cars were being shipped into the country.
The report, 'Used Vehicles and the Environment - A Global Overview of Used Light-Duty Vehicles: Flow, Scale and Regulation', looked at the impact of second-hand vehicles in emitting dangerous gases to the atmosphere.
The report said Kenya imported 14,369 saloon cars in 2015, 12,490 in 2016, 11,376 in 2017, 10,504 in 2018 and 9,971 last year.
It said the country imported 54,120 station wagons in 2015, 46,123 in 2016, 55,322 in 2017, 64,179 in 2018 and 75,512 in 2019.
Esho said the ongoing urban renewal by Nairobi Metropolitan Services should provide for non-motorised transport.
Traffic jams within Nairobi are becoming worse despite the state spending billions to decongest the city.
Already, the state has spent more than Sh90 billion towards expanding road projects.
The state has in the recent past launched dozens of road projects with a view of decongesting the city.
The Sh8.5 billion Outer Ring Road project was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on January 22, 2015 and was funded by the African Development Bank and the government. It has not addressed the challenge.
On March 15, 2019, the construction of the Sh17 billion Nairobi Western Bypass started. The construction of the road, which starts in Gitaru and terminates at Ruaka, is currently 43.9 per cent and is expected to be complete by 2022.
It is being funded by the China Exim Bank and the Kenyan government. The contractor is China Road and Bridge Corporation.
The bypass transverses the two subcounties of Kabete and Kiambaa in Kiambu county.
It passes through several towns such as Gitaru, Wangige, Ndenderu and Ruaka. It is the fourth and final ring road in the Nairobi Ring Road Network Master Plan.
The other bypasses are Southern Bypass, Northern Bypass, and Eastern Bypass.
In November 2010, China Road and Bridge Corporation, builders of the Nairobi Southern Bypass, were contracted by the government through Kenha to design and build the road.
The bypass starts from the junction of the Mombasa Road interchange and ends at Kabete-Limuru road in Kikuyu town.
The road was meant to decongest Mombasa Road and reduce the number of vehicles particularly trucks from coming to the CBD.
Following the completion of the road project, all the trucks using the Northern Corridor (Mombasa-Nairobi-Malaba) were diverted to the road and barred from accessing CBD.
The state dualled the Northern and Eastern bypasses at an estimated cost of Sh30 billion. The Northern Bypass was expanded to an eight-lane superhighway.
It starts from Ruaraka to Ruiru where it joins the Eastern Bypass. The Northern Bypass also helps motorists to access Waiyaki Way and the Nairobi—Nakuru highway without going through the city centre.
The Eastern Bypass starts from Mombasa Road through Cabanas, Pipeline, Njiru, and Thika Road onwards. It was started in 2013 is approximately 32km.
It was expected to ease traffic jams on the key road that links motorists from the busy Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and Mombasa-Nairobi highway to Thika Superhighway.
The construction of the Nairobi Expressway is ongoing. The government said Sh59.9 billion will be used in the project, fully funded by the China Road and Bridges Corporation.
The 18.5-kilometre road project starts at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and terminates at James Gichuru, along Waiyaki Way, in Westlands.
Edited by Henry Makori