Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia says the construction of the lane on Thika Road for high capacity buses will cost Sh5.8 billion in efforts to ease congestion in the capital. On the proposed Bus Rapid Transport System in Nairobi, the CS told Parliament that the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) was overseeing the redesign of the road to accommodate the 160-passenger buses.
While the construction is not over, the government has ordered 30 buses from South Africa. But this arrangement, which MPs have questioned, leaves many grey areas, especially on the timing of the arrival of the vehicles.
The government is obligated to explain the urgency of importing the buses when the supporting infrastructure is not yet in place. What is the hurry for yet it is known that bidding, the actual works, and review of the entire system before it starts working is time-consuming? Or is the ministry running a pilot? If this is the case, there is still a need to tell the public what to expect and what outcomes are anticipated.
The economy is already losing a lot due to city roads congestion, which is a product of poor planning. The ministry should not make the mistake of rushed imports that may be costlier. Thika Road attracts a lot of interest and it must be the business of the ministry and its agencies like Kenha to get it right on decongestion the first time.
And even as it does this, it must also have a medium and long-term plan for building commuter railway lines to supplement vehicular transport.
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