•The pilot phase of the BRT line 2 which runs from Kenol- Thika – Ruiru- Central Business District - Langata Road- Bomas to Rongai will start in July.
•Once operational, it will need 660 high capacity electric buses, with the government expected to procure 100 in the next few months.
Image: HANDOUT
The Bus Rapid Transit system will operate on automated fare systems once launched, Housing PS Charles Hinga has said.
This means commuters will use M-Pesa or any other digital method to purchase the tickets to access the stations.
Hinga said the government will encourage a cashless system for BRT.
Last week the government said it will cost commuters a minimum fee of Sh150 to use the BRT.
The pilot phase of the BRT line 2 which runs from Kenol- Thika – Ruiru- Central Business District - Langata Road- Bomas to Rongai will start in July.
Once operational, it will need 660 high capacity electric buses, with the government expected to procure 100 in the next few months.
The high capacity electric buses will reduce the cost of public transport and the country's carbon footprint.
“The initial fleet is 100 but going up to 300 in subsequent orders. We are targeting June or July,” Hinga said.
The PS said the BRT system will be Intelligent Traffic Systems, for lanes where there are no dedicated BRT corridors.
“In the Pangani interchange, where we have six lanes narrowing to few lanes we will implement the ITS system which allows us to instal another small system called UTC,” Hinga said
Urban Traffic Control, is the process of controlling traffic signals remotely by the highways authority.
The PS said the UTC allows the bus system to communicate with the ITS as the buses are running in a scheduled manner.
“In case of any delays, the BRT will communicate to the ITS alerting them to keep the lights on for some minutes as they try to catch up,” Hinga said
The Advanced Public Transport Management System will notify commuters of the schedule.
“The system will let commuters know when the bus will arrive or how far it is and where its next stop will be,” Hinga said.
Advanced Public Transport Management System is a component of ITS that involves managing public transport.
The system will be controlled by the traffic management centre that is being constructed by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority at Cabanas.
To decongest the city, Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority gazetted five BRT lines which are in different development phases.
This included Line 1, Ndovu, which runs from Limuru-Kangemi-CBD-Imara Daima-Athi River and Kitengela.
Line 2, Simba, which runs from Rongai-Bomas-Langata Road-CBD-Ruiru-Thika and Kenol.
Line 3, called Chui, runs from Tala-Njiru-Dandora (Juja Road)-CBD-Show Ground (Ngong Road) and Ngong.
Line 4, called Kifaru, is comprised of East and West.
The East one runs from Mama Lucy Hospital-Donholm (Jogoo Road)-CBD.
The West one runs from CBD- T Mall-Bomas-Karen and Kikuyu.
Line 5, which is also called Nyati, traverses Ridgeways (Kiambu Road)-Balozi (Allsops) and Imara Daima.
BRT and commuter rail integrated after the state gazetted commuter rail networks which include Nairobi-Limuru town, Nairobi-Ngong, Nairobi-Kenol, Muranga, Nairobi-Kiambu, Nairobi-Ruai, Nairobi-JKIA and Nairobi-Konza.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris