14-seater matatus. Mini buses and matatus will be locked out of dedicated bus lanes. PHOTO | FILE
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Matatus locked out of dedicated bus lanes to be built on five key Nairobi transport corridors.Nairobi governor Evans Kidero said
Wednesday that buses would need a minimum capacity of 73 passengers to operate on the special lanes.
The plan is tied to the expansion of city roads including Juja, Jogoo, Outer Ring and Ngong.
Mini buses and matatus will be locked out of dedicated bus lanes to be built on five key Nairobi transport corridors, signalling a shift in the city’s transport industry.
Nairobi governor Evans Kidero said Wednesday that buses would need a minimum capacity of 73 passengers to operate on the special lanes. The plan is tied to the expansion of city roads including Juja, Jogoo, Outer Ring and Ngong.
Movement on the special lanes will be faster, putting the 14 and 33 seater vans which currently dominate the roads at a disadvantage in a city gripped by traffic jams.
“The roads will be wide, with two lanes in the middle which will have buses of a minimum length of 12 metres that carry a minimum of 73 passengers and 18 metre buses which carry 115 people,” Dr Kidero said.
“We are in no way going to disenfranchise matatus (owners) or to make them lose. All we want them to do is form the necessary infrastructure that will enable them to participate in the business of running the BRTs (bus rapid transit system).”
He said that the private sector will supply the vehicles with the government providing the infrastructure and regulations on issues like schedules and fares to be charged.
“The metropolitan transport authority will come up with policies on how to operate the network, which will include a synchronised timetable,” Dr Kidero said. Outer Ring Road will be the first to have dedicated bus lanes. Construction is set to start next month and take three years.
Design for the JKIA-Rironi Road has also been completed. The road will feature a single carriageway for buses running in the middle of the highway.
Ngong Road is set to be expanded to four lanes. The plan to decongest the city, which was unveiled last week, will also feature expansion of the rail network.
Dubbed the Nairobi Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), the Sh89 billion plan will link the city to key neighbouring towns and municipalities such as Kikuyu, Kitengela, Machakos, Limuru, Thika, Ruiru, Athi River and Kajiado.
The European Union is also funding the dualling of five key feeder roads in a Sh4.9 billion project.
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