Nairobi CBD to have completely no cars on Wednesday and Saturdays

TRANSPORT MINISTRY proposes car-free days in Nairobi CBD on Wednesdays and Saturdays beginning Feb 1, 64 BRT buses to arrive next month.

This debate of removing matatus in the city has been in the limelight for quite some time now. Different mechanisms have always been proposed but failed.

Late last year Nairobi Governor tried to implement the plan to decongest the city but it flopped and he has been in constant consultation on how to solve this menace that is destroying the shape of Nairobi.

Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, who is a member of the committee, said the proposal is part of an ambitious initiative to tackle congestion in the capital.

The committee is made up of teams from the national and county governments and is chaired by Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala.

According to the 2017 Traffic Index report by Serbia-based website numbeo.com, Nairobi residents spend on average 62.44 minutes stuck in traffic every day.

A 2007 report by the Ministry of Roads and Public Works indicated that although only 15.3 per cent of commuters in Nairobi use private cars, they account for 36 per cent of vehicles in the capital city roads compared to 29 per cent of commuters using matatus who account for only 27 percent of vehicles on the roads.

According to the same report, in 2008 the number of vehicles coming in and out of the city daily is 300, 000. But City Hall puts the number at 30,000.

 

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