“Nairobi’s transport system inadequate to serve the needs of the 21st century”

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

Last week on Friday the country joined the world in marking the World Telecommunication and Information  Society Day (7th May).The event themed “ICTs and improving Road Safety” sort to involve ICT in bringing solutions in the transport sector.

In a statement by the PS Ministry of Information and Communication, Bitange Ndemo, he mentioned of a white paper developed by IBM on the country’s transport industry.  According to the PS, the report concluded “that our transportation systems are inadequate to serve the needs of the 21st century”.

The paper was launched on March 7th 2012, the first White Paper of its kind in Africa on how Nairobi can address its infrastructure and population challenges to transform into a developed and smarter city.

The report proposed that an efficient, cost effective public mass transit system would do the most to alleviate traffic congestion in Nairobi. It also offered solutions such as:
-Mobile phone signal density for pinpointing and predicting traffic problems.
-road developers to collaborate with the energy sector to tap into new techniques that use roads to help generate energy.
-giving priority to solutions that improve conditions for cyclists and pedestrians.
– investing in large-scale public transport system.

“It is increasingly obvious that Nairobi must move beyond the traditional model of just building roads to solve traffic problems. It needs a combination of physical infrastructure, new ways of thinking and new technologies,” said Andre Dzikus, Urban Mobility Unit, UN-HABITAT.

According to IBM’s Commuter Pain Survey, Nairobi citizens have the fourth most painful commute in the world. City officials estimate that traffic jams cost the economy over Sh50 million per day in lost productivity, fuel consumption and pollution.

The capital’s transport is heavily marked by motor vehicles whereas other forms of transport available like railway are slowly picking up. Railway transport is one of the major sectors envisioned in the Vision 2030 with the aim of revamping it. It is viewed as the best alternative over road for transportation of bulk goods which has been linked to poor road condition. It’s not only faster but it also reduces traffic congestion at some road points.

In late last year, the fully refurbished Syokimau Railway Station was officially opened by the former president, Mwai Kibaki paving way for increased commuter services at the station.

The Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) last year announced proposals for setting up an elevated highway to replace the Uhuru Highway. The proposed highway would run above the existing Mombasa Rd-Uhuru Highway from Likoni road junction at Ole Sereni Hotel to James Gichuru junction off Waiyaki Way.

There are ongoing road constructions and rehabilitation in the country with the latest to be complete being the Thika-Nairobi super highway. The city will also see to opening of missing road links most of which are near completion.

The report also pointed on better, reliable and affordable energy solutions for smarter cities as well as demographics and security.

IBM has had its operations running from the country to other parts of the country for some time now. It opened its 12th global laboratory in Kenya and the first science and technology research lab on the continent conducting both applied and far-reaching exploratory research.