Traffic jams and congestion in Nairobi will be a thing of the past after a committee formed to find ways to ease congestion began its work.
The Nairobi County Transport and Safety
committee met stakeholders in the transport sector in Naivasha to discuss a new plan to ease traffic
flow in
the city.
The team held a three-day meeting at Eserian Hotel.
Nairobi Infrastructure CEC Mohammed Dagane told a press conference they are racing against the clock to improve transport in the city.
"We are working to ensure we have a new Bus Rapid Transport system by December 12 this year," he said.
Dagane said the committee that brings together members from the NTSA, Traffic Department, and PSV owners was part of the Nairobi Regeneration Committee.
He said there are more than 300,000 private vehicles and 40,000 motorcycles that get into the city daily.
Nairobi Bus Transporters chairman Edwin Mukabana welcomed the idea to decongest the city, terming it as long overdue.
"We are losing money in traffic jams that take hours," he said.
Meanwhile, transport along the busy Nairobi-Nakuru highway was temporarily paralysed following a crackdown on un-roadworthy vehicles
Tens of passengers were left stranded following the crackdown by the National Transport and Safety Authority in Naivasha that targeted Public Service Vehicles.
The authority said the highway leads in road accidents. Vehicles without speed governors were nabbed.
According to David Kiarie from the Road Safety Association of Kenya PSVs cause a majority of the accidents.
Kiarie said they were alarmed by the number of accidents and decided to conduct a joint operation to find out what was going wrong.
“We have done everything we can to have vehicles fitted with speed governors but some of the operators had devised a new way of tampering with them resulting to unnecessary accidents," he noted.
He supported the move by NTSA to suspend saccos found flouting traffic rule. The said the crackdown will continue until drivers learn to obey traffic rules.
Kenya Speed Governor Association's Edward Gitonga told Kenyans to speak out whenever they find PSVs speeding.
He said everybody had a role to play to ensure safety on the roads.
On Thursday the NTSA said 2,214 Kenyans have lost their lives in accidents majorly caused PSVs.