Traffic congestion in the city of Nairobi: Psv drivers and commuters views..

Abstract

A transport system may be defined as comprising the fixed facilities, the flow entities and the central systems that permit people and goods to overcome the frictional effects of distance effectively in order to participate in a timely manner in some desired activity. This is to organizations both public and private to enable them realize conveyance of their goods and services effectively. Over the past years countries have experienced good economic times leading growth in the modes of transport. Many people are now able to buy vehicles as means of transport; public transport is also in the increase. This has led to the existing roads being overwhelmed by the number ofvehic1es leading to traffic congestion or commonly known as 'traffic jams'. Congestion is relatively easy to recognize-roads filled with cars, trucks, and buses, sidewalks filled with pedestrians. The definitions of the term congestion mention such words as "clog," "impede," and "excessive fullness." For anyone who has ever sat in congested traffic, those words should sound familiar. In the transportation realm, congestion usually relates to an excess of vehicles on a portion of roadway at a particular time resulting in speeds that are slower - sometimes much slower - than normal or "free flow" speeds. Congestion often means stopped or stop-and-go traffic. Congestion has not only grown over the aast ..t.wo decades, it has become more volatile as ..•. " well. Congestion levels are never the same from day-to-dau.n the same highway because the varieties of traffic-influencing events that influence congestion are never the same. Because travel conditions are so unreliable on congested highways, travellers must plan for these problems by leaving early just to avoid being late. This means extra time out of everyone's day that must be devoted to travel- even if it means getting somewhere early, that's still time we could be using for other endeavours. Commuters could be late for work or after work appointments, business travellers could be late for meetings, and truckers could incur extra charges by not delivering their goods on time. And all because of unreliable travel conditions on our highways. This study seeks to seek to establish the magnitude of traffic jam/congestion, vehicle drivers discipline and strategies of mitigation, with a view of providing data for the development of effective modes of reducing and mitigating it. It targeted ~ respondents from different estates within Nairobi. It also seeks to establish the causes, trends and efficient means of mitigation of traffic jam in selected roads within Nairobi. The study should assist the policy makers to come up with feasible solutions and policies on ways of reducing the impact of traffic jams on commuters. The sample population will be determined through random sampling. A questionnaire with both closed and open ended questions will be used to collect data. Data was coded and entered into a computer for analysis through the statistical package for social sciences. Data will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Data will be presented in form of tables and graphs.