NAIROBI MAISHA HALISI

THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSINESS AND LIFE IN KENYA



Monday, 28 February 2011

NAIROBI TRAFFIC JAM FINANCIAL

One wonders why Nairobi is a very costly city to live in. As a young graduate I think I have a lucid understanding as to why.
I am going to explore different factors here.
  1. THE ROAD NETWORK.
  2. No. OF VEHICLES.
  3. THE WEATHER.
  4. ACCIDENTS.
  5. THE WRECKLESS DRIVERS.
  6. WORKING HOURS.
  7. THE POLITICAL ELITE.
  8. RISING COST OF FUEL.
The Road Network in the City is really poor. A vehicle going to the other end of the town must go through the CBD rather than through a by pass. Consider the cost of fuel. One is bound to spend more waiting for the jam within the CBD to clear.

The No. of Vehicles has been on the increase. I guess Nairobians can afford them. This translates into more vehicles on the road and as such more traffic jams. Imagine a situation where by our Country men would embrace the spirit of efficient public transportation. We would surely spend less time and money on these roads.

The Matatu Industry has embraced an interesting way of exploiting Nairobians with the different weather patterns the city experiences.
Personally, I think the rainy season costs us more on the roads. Fares double and in some cases tripple.
Come to think of it, I dont really know why. The same time I use to reach home in the dry season is the same time I use to reach home in the rainy season. The only difference would be the quality of roads used by different residents of the city.

When an accident occurs within the city, the traffic police take long to iron out the situation. Sometimes the accident is minor but the motorist will take alot of time arguing about nothing. In turn this translates in to jams.

Most drivers within the City are wreckless. Overlapping, driving on the wrong side of the road are just but a few traffic offences they commit.

The Kenyan working hours are all synchronized. Most employees are required to report to work at 8.30a.m and leave at around 5 p.m.  As such we all find ourselves on the roads at the same time either going to work or leaving work.

The political elite such as the president and the Ministers give orders to traffic police to clear the roads for them. This affects motorists who are forced to wait for hours. It is quite offensive but hey, what can we do?

I dont need to say much about the cost of fuel. It has been on the increase for the past decade. I think we can all relate to this.

It is upon oursleves to better this city.Embracing responsibility, patience, understanding,empathy and team work.
Otherwise be prepared to spend more time and money on these roads.
Takea people!!!

Have a safe and hopefully short trip back home.

1 comment:

  1. Quite enlightening...but one thing is for sure, you have to know all out of CBD route to be able to beat the traffic, for example, when going to Westlands you only need to go through upper hill and avoid the Haille-sallasie-Uhuru- University way traffic jam, when heading to Thika road use the industrial area route and allow your self to land on Jogoo road so that you can access thika road through either outering road via first avenue through Juja road or outering ring road directly when there is no traffic!

    You also need to study the times you want to pass through CBD, there are times its a no go zone, ask me I have learnt the hard way!

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