By Ogova Ondego
Published May 18, 2024
Nairobi, Kenya’s commercial and political capital and the largest metropolis in East Africa, has no formal public transport and commuters live at the mercy of matatu public service vehicle (PSV) operators who charge a leg and an arm without commensurate service delivery.
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During peak travel time fares are often doubled or tripled, depending on whether it has rained, there’s a traffic snarl up or police crackdown on people operating PSVs with questionable ‘road-worthiness’. Such factors lead to an artificial shortage of vehicles in operation and hence the need to charge higher fares.
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Nairobi accounts for close to 20% of the 3,000 people who lose their lives from road traffic accidents in Kenya according to statistics.
Without time tables on our perennially jam-packed roads, it is rare for anyone to get to any point on time. A 20 km trip that should be covered in 15-25 minutes, for instance, often ends up being covered in three hours or more.
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Dressed in rugged Jeans and dirty shirts smelling of dried sweat and bad breathe emanating from the mouth, touts with blood-stained eyes collect fares from commuters and could easily shove you off a moving vehicle, as they have done to people with insufficient fare.
Could RAILBUS that is touted as a ‘low-cost and green mass transportation system’ by its developers in Delaware, USA, fix the public transport hitch in Nairobi City and the satellite towns of Ngong, Ongata Rongai, Kikuyu, Limuru, Athi River and Kitengela that are collectively referred to as Nairobi Metropolitan Area?
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RAILBUS says it is ‘is committed to revolutionizing urban mobility through sustainable and innovative public transportation. Our core objectives focus on promoting eco-friendly transit solutions, reducing carbon emissions, and fostering an informed, inclusive community. As we champion the development and adoption of our solar-powered RAILBUS, we are driven by a vision of a cleaner, more sustainable future, aligning technological advancement with environmental responsibility and community engagement.’
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The developers of RAILBUS say their vehicles are designed for efficiency ​and can be ‘retrofitted into a broad range of environments and provide transportation that is environmentally friendly and operationally efficient’.
The electric vehicles are small, light, driverless, run on elevated tracks and offer frequent transport with less waiting, taking passengers much faster to their destination.
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