The State of public transportation in Nairobi City

Sustainable Urban Planning and Infrastructure

Résumé

Nairobi City is an iconic economic hub in the Eastern Africa. It is ranked 125^th globally as a competitive city. The city contributes $116.66 GDP and sustains an approximate population of 5.7 million residents. The city has evolved over the years emerging as a transportation depot, serving as a colonial center to being the capital city of Kenya. The city’s urbanization rate is 4.1%.

The public transport system in Nairobi City has been an episode of efficacy and unreliability. The period between 1960’s to 1980’s, Nairobi City had reliable and effective public transport system. The Stagecoach buses had assigned routes with scheduled travel times, affordable and comfortable passenger seats. Integrated with the commuter trains which served the passenger demands adequately. The road infrastructure was defined and the City’s network system was functional. It was a British based system. Currently, one cannot believe this story was true. Since the public transportation system is characterized of privately owned matatus with no fixed routes or stops, unreliable, road unworthy vehicles and poor driver’s character. Often, the trip fares are determined by demand of passengers and weather conditions. Studies and designs on how to advance the transportation system in Nairobi have been provided since the beginning of the millennium. Many of these studies have been articulated by global experts. However, the public transportation system seems to wobble as the city urbanize. Thus, the need to probe why?