#WeeklyPerspective: Nairobi's failed transport system
The ongoing debate about getting PSVs out of Nairobi's CBD has taken me back to the first time (14 years ago) I covered this very disorganised city that fights back any attempt to bring order.
The ongoing debate about getting PSVs out of Nairobi's CBD has taken me back to the first time (14 years ago) I covered this very disorganised city that fights back any attempt to bring order.
In 2008, the then-Nairobi City Council issued an order banning PSVs from the CBD. PSV operators were immediately mobilised to reject this plan, which eventually collapsed. Every city administration that has come after this has faced the same kind of resistance.
It is therefore not surprising that Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja is faced with the same. All the mayors and governors before him faced the same dilemma.
While political patronage is the formula to this madness, decongesting Nairobi fails due to poor implementation of plans.
While political patronage is the formula to this madness, decongesting Nairobi fails due to poor implementation of plans.
Take the example of this 2008 story just days after the City Hall order which PSVs defied. You have possibly seen similar headlines in multiples in the last 10 years.
Besides this plan, there was a proposed Sh280M AfDB-backed light rail and BRT project.
Besides this plan, there was a proposed Sh280M AfDB-backed light rail and BRT project.
In the same year, the Muthurwa terminus came to life, and PSVs from Eastlands were banned from the CBD. To ease things for passengers, there were Double M buses that would then ferry people into the CBD. But this arrangement worked only for weeks as Matatus forced their way back.
About three years later, there was an attempt to ban PSVs from Thika Road by establishing a new terminus in Ngara. Kenyans were at this point forced to walk to the CBD, for like a week or two, before the entire plan flopped.
Then came the first Nairobi County Government led by Evans Kidero. In March 2015, Kidero banned all PSVs from the CBD in a move that was opposed by then-Senator Mike Sonko. It was not long before Kidero lifted the ban.
In March 2016, Kidero made another attempt to ban PSVs from the CBD and designated Railways, Muthurwa, and Ngara as the pick-up and drop-off points for all passengers. Again, this plan failed miserably.
In comes Mike Sonko as Governor in 2017 and it only took a few weeks for him to rescind a decision to ban PSVs from the CBD. He made another attempt in April 2018 to suspend the PSVs from CBD. It failed again.
Then came the Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) led by army man Mohammed Badi. NMS' plan involved the enforcement of the use of the stages at Ngara, Parklands, Green Park, and Muthurwa. This was to be complemented by the BRT system but remains a white elephant.
Nairobi's problem is actually not the PSV but studies, reports, and plans that are gathering dust in government offices.
Here is one such plan (published in 2014 by Kidero's administration and approved by MCAs) that shows where the problems lie.
Here is one such plan (published in 2014 by Kidero's administration and approved by MCAs) that shows where the problems lie.
The Railway City Masterplan (republished 3 years ago) whose groundbreaking happened recently also proposes various ways to deal with the transport issue in Nairobi. Even without the development of the city, the proposals can actually make a big difference.
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