The Congestion and access to Nairobi’s Central Business District – A case for Aerial Cable Transport Installation and Use

Abstract

In less than a generation, 70 % of the world’s population will be living in cities. Travel is a necessity in urban areas but roads and other infrastructure have been unable to keep up with the needs of these ever growing requirements. This has led to high levels of traffic congestion that threaten economic productivity, environmental conservation and the overall quality of urban living. Nairobi City is not exempt from these problems. Several cities in the world have utilized Ropeways and Cable Liners as an innovative and attractive approach to public transport. These have impressive features like ease in passing over barriers, rapid installation, safety, high efficiency and simple integration with other means of transport. The study aimed at investigating the possibility of integrating Arial Cable Transport (ACT) as a means to supplement some of the solutions proposed for the reduction of congestion in Nairobi. The literature review of the study covers urbanization and urban growth, urban transportation and urban ACT. It analyzes ACT in Africa, developing world and the developed world. It also looks at the benefits and challenges of ACT investigating the possibility of it being implemented in Nairobi. The research was a non-experimental or survey research design. The key target population were people who carry out their daily activities in the Central Business District (CBD). Data Collection methods included Observation, photography, interviews, issuing of questionnaires and literature review. The study revealed that there has been a peak hour shift due to increase in traffic while the main means used to access the CBD are personal vehicles and PSVs. Most people take approximately an hour to access the CBD and about half the time when there is no traffic jam. Majority of those who come to the CBD are youth (age 21-30) and are not happy with public transportation either due to cost, reliability, timeliness and/or efficiency. Those who use rail transport are happy with the timing and convenience but not with the comfort. Roads from the eastern side of Nairobi and the Mombasa Road/Uhuru Highway corridor face the worst congestion while accessing the CBD. The study shows that Nairobi residents want a transport system that is cheap, comfortable, has regular fares, timely, polite crew and reliable. There is need to work on interconnectivity between the proposed MRTS and the current paratransit. The study also revealed that current public transport does not help people with disabilities. Those in the public transport sector receive little training other than driving, first aid and simple mechanics. There is no emphasis on NMT to access the CBD. The importance of reducing the number of private vehicles entering the CBD is gaining recognition among both civilian respondents and PSV crew. Most respondents were positive about the use of ACT with respect to usage, impact on traffic congestion, value addition, creation of jobs and general embracement by members of the public. The study recommends the urgent need for a sustainable MRTS that enables modal variety to access the CBD with fixed and affordable pricing to people of all social classes and those with special needs. Training of public transit crew is critical. ACT is a worthwhile means of urban transportation, though routing has to be well selected based on corridor characteristics. There is, however, urgent need for policy development for this to take place. It will be important to integrate the ACT with the proposed MRTS. Further research should be done to investigate the potential of this system in informal settlements.