In a move to reduce congestion on our roads, Kenya National Highways Authority (KenHa) in conjunction with Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NAMATA) started marking the dedicated lanes for use by high capacity buses carrying over 80 passengers at a go also known as Bus Rapid Transport (BRT).

The move gathered mixed reactions online and offline. Online, a majority felt that a huge error was made by dedicating the outermost lane argueing that the inner most lane would have made more sense because in Kenya, we drive on the left, highway exits are on the left, bus stops are on the left and Footbridges entry/exit, are on the left. This means the buses would have to exit the dedicated lane and cross over to the left to use the exit to head to it’s destination or drop off/collect passengers.

Offline (On the road) PSV drivers especially Matatu drivers were very happy with the move as it was just a matter of time before they kissed traffic good bye and flew to and fro their destinations.

How true is the above? Was it an error? What’s the grand scheme of things?

If you have been on our Kenyan roads the outermost lane has always been a cause of traffic because Matatus convert it as a stage. If the said lane was to be for use by the BRT, it would beat its purpose in that the Bus will spend more time on the road trying to overtake the matatus stopping arbitrarily. Look at Allsops for example. The bus will have to move from the extreme right to extreme left to pick up and drop off passengers and considering it will only be stopping at designated points, the driver can maneuver to the lane in good time.

Matatu drivers’ celebrations were shortlived when they found out that they weren’t included in the BRT category with the only exception being made for ambulances, police cars and vehicles carrying high profile dignitaries.

This led to the Matatu owners’ Association issuing a press release that read in part, “Matatu Owners Association threatens to cripple transport countrywide after City Hall orders matatus out of city centre in the next 10 days.”

Introduction of a BRT system is meant to discourage use of private means of transport, discourage use of PSVs and will eventually see the number of matatus on the road reduce and fares drop too. Many will opt for a cheaper and faster means to their destination.

That said will that lane be used as intended? I don’t think so. If there is a 3-car pile-up, the 4^th car will overlap. I foresee may people using the lane to overlap and cause a gridlock when trying to move back to their lane. If we observe lane discipline, the BRT project would make the lives for the millions of daily commuters easier. However, the same cannot be said for other players who relied on the same matatus to put bread on the table.

I believe the BRT can work; let us not be too quick to throw stones.