Nairobi Bus Rapid Transit System to be Operational by December 12th

The team tasked to put in place Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Nairobi to ease traffic congestion says the system will be operational by December this year.

Nairobi County Infrastructure minister Mohammed Dagane said the taskforce will begin rolling out the system in coming weeks as it races against time.

Dagane spoke after the Nairobi County Transport and Safety committee, which is overseeing the setting up of the system, held a three-day consultative meeting with stakeholders in the transport sector in Naivasha.

The meeting held at Eserian Hotel discussed how the new system will be implemented in order to ease traffic flow in the city.

"We are working to ensure we have a new Bus Rapid Transport system by December 12th this year," Dagane said adding that more than 300,000 private cars and 40,000 motorcycles get into the city daily. 

The committee is made up of officials from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), traffic department, and owners of public service vehicles. The team is part of the Nairobi Regeneration Committee formed by President Kenyatta late last year.

Nairobi Bus Transporters chairperson Edwin Mukabana hailed the move noting that millions of shillings are lost daily as a result of traffic jams.

"We are losing money in traffic jams that take hours," he said.