What is brt in kenya?

If you tour the Nairobi Metropolitan region, you should notice them: new dedicated bus stops and flyovers, marked lanes, and colored pavements. This is the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), an ambitious project by the Kenyan Government and the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority. A large part of the project is complete and they will launch sections of the network soon.

Here is all you need to know about this new bus-based public transport system.

Travel route information, footbridges, sidewalks, pedestrian crossing, facilities for persons living with disabilities among other useful bits will be available. Dedicated lanes for the buses are to provide a right of way, reducing travel time to and from the city.

For efficiency, commuters will use digital prepaid technologies to pay their fare. In the pilot phase, a flat rate fee of KES 150 will be charged. Methods of topping up include normal MPESA pay bills or through a designated vendor.

Passengers will be given a special toll payment card loaded with points. This is what they can tap at a terminal before they take a ride. I have to say, cashless payment is the now and future. It is great to see the government adopt and enforce it with this project.

Additionally, Park and Ride services will be available at the designated stops. This means motorists can park at the stations and board the City Rail System buses. Very convenient especially considering how tedious it is to access and park safely in the CBD.

The bus rapid transport (BRT) system is built to ease traffic flow in the capital Nairobi and its satellite towns. At the Nairobi central station, A BRT transfer station will be available. They plan to integrate the BRT with another commuter rail running from Nairobi to other places like Murang’a, Ngong, Kiambu, and Konza.

Bus capacity is to be between 90-100 passengers, with some sitting and others standing. The network of buses will be vehicles operating on green energy- electric, hybrid, and biodiesel. This places the country in a good position to combat environmental effects of fossil fuel-powered and secure funding through green bonds.

It is possible as well that locally developed electric buses will be among the first to operate on the BRT. This is an exciting move to encourage and boost local manufacturing and assembly.

These are the corridors of BRT that the transport authority has gazetted:

State Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed this month that BRT line 2 is 70% complete, and set to start operation on July 2022. This line will comprise 13 intermediate stations with 24 platforms. They also projected it to carry 660 high-capacity 12-meter electric buses.

The authority in charge of the establishment and implementation of “a reliable, efficient and sustainable” transport system within the Nairobi metropolis — Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, NAMATA — has, in a notice, invited dealers to present their bids for the sale or lease of electric, hybrid and biodiesel buses to its administration. The leasing options cover three-, seven- and 12-year periods.

The NAMATA is implementing the BRT and other light commuter rail projects to decongest the city, with the BRT network projected for completion by the end of this year.

Mass transit vehicles under the BRT project will have dedicated lanes, a right of way that will make them faster than the already existing fossil-fuel buses. For efficiency of administration, the commuters will also be required to pay using digital prepaid technologies.

The BRT was proposed by the NAMATA in a 2019 report as a strategy for easing traffic congestion in Nairobi, where over three million commuters spend an average of 57 minutes everyday on short journeys. The unending traffic in Nairobi, the report estimated, costs the country’s economy $1 billion a year in lost productivity.

Opportunity for EV startups in Kenya

There is a possibility that locally developed electric buses will be among the first to ply the BRT as Opibus and BasiGo — two EV startups in the country — begin tests.

Two weeks ago, Opibus launched its first electric bus on Kenya’s roads, while BasiGo is set to begin its pilot soon. The high-capacity electric buses by the two companies fit the description of the type of vehicles that the authority wants.

Opibus is planning a commercial launch later this year, with plans to expand to other countries in Africa by the end of 2023. Opibus, which has been converting gasoline and diesel vehicles to electric vehicles over the last five years, is now establishing a manufacturing plant for electric buses in Kenya. Brand new 51-seater Opibus buses, with a 120 km range, will cost $100,000, while conversions will cost $60,000. BasiGo, on the other hand, will locally assemble the 25- and 36-seater buses, with a range of 250 kilometers, using parts sourced from China’s EV maker BYD Automotive.

Overall, electric mobility in Africa is growing, but at a much slower rate compared to the developed world. This is due to several challenges, including weak electricity grids, insufficient charging infrastructure and a general lack of awareness. The initial cost of buying EVs is also a major deterrent — especially for a market that mainly consumes second-hand cars.

But in this article, I’ll compile what has been officially confirmed and explain how it will work, what improvements it will bring, and what the future is going to be. Let’s hop in.

The Nairobi Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System is an ongoing project by the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA). The project is part of efforts to decongest Nairobi traffic and pollution.

The BRT System is a series of dedicated lanes to be used by special buses. The buses will travel at dedicated times and have higher capacities than current public road transport.

The system will also have parking areas for drivers and pedestrian stations at locations near the most populated neighbourhoods within and around Nairobi.

The BRT Routes link the major towns right on the outskirts of Nairobi. This is where most of the people who commute to the CBD to work live.

The lines are named after Kenya’s Big Five wild animals found in various national parks.

None of the BRT routes are fully functional yet. However, one line is currently in the trial phase. As of February 2022, it costs Ksh 150 to use a BRT bus on the Simba route from Kasarani to the CBD to Kenyata National Hospital. This will be on normal roads as a test program.

BRT buses will be operated by private corporations selected by a tender process, and NaMATA has made strict specifications about the kind of buses that will be accepted and operated on the BRT. From these specifications, you can tell that the buses will be a great improvement on the current commuter transport. Here are some of the reasons why:

BRT buses will always leave on time and will rarely encounter traffic. You’ll be able to schedule your departure and arrival more reliably than with the current system, where the public transport vehicles (matatus) only leave when full, not on time.

Current BRT buses have to be a certain size and capable of carrying their specified capacity. There will be enough leg room for almost anyone and space to move around for people boarding and alighting.

If you’ve been in a Nairobi matatu, you’ll know how loud the music played can get. And then there are street vendors, preachers, and rowdy conductors. There’ll be none of that on BRT buses. Music, if any, will be soft and pleasing, and no unauthorised personnel will be allowed.

BRT buses will be equipped with WiFi, so you will be able to start working while on your commute.

But in this article, I’ll compile what has been officially confirmed and explain how it will work, what improvements it will bring, and what the future is going to be. Let’s hop in.

The Nairobi Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System is an ongoing project by the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA). The project is part of efforts to decongest Nairobi traffic and pollution.

The BRT System is a series of dedicated lanes to be used by special buses. The buses will travel at dedicated times and have higher capacities than current public road transport.

The system will also have parking areas for drivers and pedestrian stations at locations near the most populated neighbourhoods within and around Nairobi.

The BRT Routes link the major towns right on the outskirts of Nairobi. This is where most of the people who commute to the CBD to work live.

The lines are named after Kenya’s Big Five wild animals found in various national parks.

None of the BRT routes are fully functional yet. However, one line is currently in the trial phase. As of February 2022, it costs Ksh 150 to use a BRT bus on the Simba route from Kasarani to the CBD to Kenyata National Hospital. This will be on normal roads as a test program.

BRT buses will be operated by private corporations selected by a tender process, and NaMATA has made strict specifications about the kind of buses that will be accepted and operated on the BRT. From these specifications, you can tell that the buses will be a great improvement on the current commuter transport. Here are some of the reasons why:

BRT buses will always leave on time and will rarely encounter traffic. You’ll be able to schedule your departure and arrival more reliably than with the current system, where the public transport vehicles (matatus) only leave when full, not on time.

Current BRT buses have to be a certain size and capable of carrying their specified capacity. There will be enough leg room for almost anyone and space to move around for people boarding and alighting.

If you’ve been in a Nairobi matatu, you’ll know how loud the music played can get. And then there are street vendors, preachers, and rowdy conductors. There’ll be none of that on BRT buses. Music, if any, will be soft and pleasing, and no unauthorised personnel will be allowed.

BRT buses will be equipped with WiFi, so you will be able to start working while on your commute.

All BRT buses have to be environmentally friendly to operate. Currently, that’s either electric, hybrid, or biodiesel powered.

Kenya may finally actualize the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) dream after advertising the process for sourcing electric and hybrid buses as a local firm rolled out trial runs on Thika Road, fuelling fresh hopes for organized urban travel.

Neo-Metro which runs the Kenya Mpya Metro vehicles says it has partnered with Swedish Bus manufacturer Scania to launch the vehicles, as more firms mull the move meant to improve Nairobi’s public transport network and complement the matatu sector.

The move was followed by the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (Namata) announcing that it had begun the process of sourcing for electric and hybrid buses two months after electric vehicles were paraded in Nairobi.

“Namata invites sealed tenders from original bus manufacturers, motor vehicle dealers, leasing companies, financial institutions and interested firms for the provision of buses and transport services for the BRT project through leasing,” the authority said.

“For us to go fully electric, we need some ancillary infrastructure. When we have hybrid buses, then when we have the infrastructure, we can switch to fully electric,” said Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga.

When it was conceptualised in 2018, the Nairobi BRT actualisation plan was estimated to gobble $92.6 million after the European Union (EU) committed over $49.2 million in grant towards its implementation on the October 31, 2018.

However, despite painting the roads nothing happened. The roads have since been repainted again and taxpayers hope this time they will enjoy the ride along the BRT corridors which were expected to hold up to 100 high-capacity buses and later increase to 300 in subsequent orders.

Commuter rail payment

“BRT will be cashless. There will be a card that will also integrate commuter rail payment. Methods of topping up include normal MPesa playbill or you simply go to a designated vendor,” Hinga added.

When it was conceptualised in 2018, the Nairobi BRT actualisation plan was estimated to gobble $92.6 million after the European Union (EU) committed over $49.2 million in grant towards its implementation on October 31, 2018.

However, despite painting the roads nothing happened. The roads have since been repainted again and taxpayers hope this time they will enjoy the ride along the BRT corridors which were expected to hold up to 100 high-capacity buses and later increase to 300 in subsequent orders.

The drive towards actualising the BRT system comes at a time when there is also growing concerns on energy efficiency and environmental consciousness with calls for electric buses.

Electric vehicles

Kenya currently has 6 EV public charging stations compared to eight  in Rwanda with the rest of the East African Community (EAC) countries having none.

“The adoption of electric vehicles across Africa is growing but at a slow pace,” says the survey by Africa Insights Magazine which also shows that East Africa is trailing South Africa and North Africa.

for the Nairobi Metropolitan Region.