RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN NAIROBI: LESSONS FROM ADDIS ABABA

 

According to a report released by the Nairobi Metropolitan Transport Authority (NaMATA) in September 2019, vehicles stuck in traffic potentially cost Kenya about $1 billion a year in lost productivity. In May of that year, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport James Macharia, had announced that the government had dedicated sh 200 billion to projects meant to reduce traffic congestion in Nairobi area. Though there was mention of the rolling out of a bus rapid transport system and the laying of new railway tracks, overtime, the focus seems to have been heavily on the expansion and recalibration of roads within and around the city if the construction of several by passes and the expressway are anything to go by.

However, urban economists argue that the construction of more and wider roads does not necessarily translate to reduced traffic congestion. If anything, building more roads further compounds the problem as it encourages more commuters to use cars to commute to work in the long haul.

According to the 2019 report by NaMATA, about 40.7% commuters in the city use public transport means which are majorly buses and matatus while 13.5% used private vehicles. This suggests that the biggest share of traffic congestion is attributable to public transport vehicles. While the move to roll out a bus rapid transport system is laudable more needs to be done as far as public transport in and around the Nairobi is concerned.

 Instructively, Nairobi has a commuter rail system that serves about 20,000 commuters in a week, according to data by Kenya Railways- which is only about 1.3 per cent of the 1.5 million people who commute to work in Nairobi daily. These numbers buttress the fact that the commuter rail system has done little to ease the burden of traffic congestion. This situation is largely blamed, firstly on the cost of commute- passengers pay sh 100 to each destination- which makes it out of reach for a majority of Nairobians in the lower income bracket. Secondly,  the problem of convenience- a commuter who resides in Kasarani will find it much more convenient to take a bus to town (paying sh 50 as bus fare )  rather than take a bus or motorbike to the nearest train stop at Mwiki then pay sh 100 to the Nairobi Central railway station. Such is the case for many commuters in and around Nairobi.

Sometime in 2016, the Transport Ministry through its then Permanent Secretary Irungu Nyakera, had stated that there was plan to lay 24 kilometers of a light rail tram system meant to serve areas that were not served by the existing commuter rail system. Ngong road, Waiyaki Way and either Thika or Langata road were each to get 8 kilometers of the proposed tram line. 6 years down the line, there is nothing to show of it meanwhile, Nairobi continues to reel under the burden of traffic congestion.

Addis Ababa’s Light Rail Train (LRT) provides a near perfect template of how such a rail system would work for Nairobi.

At a cost of $475 million (15.02 per cent less costly as compared to the Expressway’s initial quotation of $ 559 million) the Ethiopian government lay a 34.4km light rail system in Addis Ababa. Operation on the line started in September 20 and November 9, 2015.  As of today, the LRT in Addis Ababa serves an average of about 153, 405 commuters up from a daily average of 113, 500 in January 2016.This means that reliance on the city’s Anbessa buses for commute has been somewhat reduced. This has been possible due to the affordable commuter charges which range from $0.10 to $0.30 which are comparable to the cost of a bus ride.

 Additionally, the fact that the train is connected to Ethiopia’s power grid which is fueled almost entirely by hydropower, geothermal and wind power means that a reduction in carbon emissions will be realized in the long haul. According to research carried out by cities100, it is estimated that annual  emissions reductions from the project are expected to jump to 170,000 tons by 2030 down from an annual emission reduction of 55,000 tons in 2015. Moreover, with the LRT the City’s average transport speed has improved to 22km/hour down from 10km/hour by road traffic.

On the flipside however, Addis Ababa residents complain that the light rail is way over crowded and that it reaches only certain parts of the city. In retrospect, they say, it has compounded the traffic congestion problem further since the light rail tracks cut between and through road lanes at other parts of the city, making it harder to cross to the other side for cars and mini-buses.  

The hits and misses of the Addis Ababa LRT provide important lessons for Nairobi to pick up. One, an LRT system is most effective in reducing traffic congestion if it has the ability to serve a majority of the residents therefore, commuter charges have to be pocket friendly or at least affordable even to those in the lower income bracket. Two, planners have to make a provision for the integration of the LRT and the pre-existing bus system. Three, a larger LRT system will have to be supplemented by mini-tram lines that reach high population density areas that are not served by the main line.