Questions still linger over the planning and execution of Kenya’s Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) after months of delay and sites that appear abandoned.
The Ksh 5.6 billion project which stalled in 2022 over supposed funding woes was meant to significantly ease movement around the Nairobi Metropolis. Executed by Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NAMATA) in conjunction with various partners, the project was expected to come to life in June last year with the completion of the pilot 27-kilometer Kasarani-Kenyatta National Hospital line. But today, there is no sign of the Chinese contractor, STECOL, on site. Instead, there are incomplete stations and concrete barriers at various sections along the route that have slightly narrowed some sections of the outer lane on Thika Highway. In October, NAMATA’S Engineer Francis Gitau, told the media that Kenyans would have to wait until June 2023 for the line to be operational.
Some observers questioned the practicality of building a BRT in the median of Thika Highway while no provision had been made for the same in the road’s design. As it is, it is impossible to build the BRT line on most of that highway without compromising the width of lanes.
Earlier, red lines had been controversially marked on the existing Thika Highway to demarcate the proposed BRT lanes. It was reported at the time that BRT buses had already been secured from South Africa but these did not materialize.
