Morris Ouma, a Roysambu resident spends at least one hour on traffic every day commuting to work and back home, a distance that would ideally take 20 minutes.
He is one of the millions of city residents who endure heavy traffic everyday especially during peak hours, which also come with higher bus fares and high fuel consumption for motorists.
“It is very straining. Weekends are better because there is no heavy traffic but Monday to Friday there is no escaping. You just have to seat on traffic unless you move before 6am and after 10pm,” he notes.
Public transport remains a major mode of movement in the city which had a population of 4.4 million people as of 2019, according to the national census, with the numbers being pushed up by rural-urban migration as individuals seeking jobs continue to relocate to the city.
Of these, about 70 per cent depend on public transport with more than 20,000 matatus entering the city centre each day, official data shows.
Traffic snarl ups are common along Mombasa and Lang'ata roads where more than 8,000 matatus ply, Jogoo Road which has about 5,000 public service vehicles everyday, Thika Road and Waiyaki Way which have more than 3,000 matatus and Ngong Road with more than 1,000 matatus everyday.
Private vehicles are however the biggest contributers to the city traffic, according to a research by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (Kippra) titled 'Nairobi Metropolitan Region Transportation Challenges.
It notes that private vehicles account for 64 per cent of the traffic volume in Nairobi, but ferry just 22 per cent of the people who use Nairobi roads.
City residents spend at least 57 minutes to commute distances that should take much less time of even 10 minutes, according the Nairobi Metropolitan Authority (NaMATA).
The ongoing construction of the expressway has contributed to more snarl ups mainly on Mombasa Road.
According to research, an average commuter spends over 40 hours (cumulatively) per year stuck in rush-hour traffic with daily increasing number of private cars worsening the situation.
The traffic jams are estimated to cost the Kenyan economy Sh100 billion every year, which would translate to about Sh11 million per hour.
There is however a big unseen picture on health implication with experts linking the persistent traffic jams in Nairobi to depression, amid socio-economic impact.
According to medical psychologist Dr Alice Kamundi, getting stuck in traffic everyday leads to stress which is cumulative over time.
Stress can be defined as any change in the environment that requires your body to react and adjust in response.
Since you are not able to control everything. Letting off what you can is the beginning of freedom
The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses.
It is a normal part of life as many events that happen to you and around you and many things that you do yourself put stress on your body.
You can experience good or bad forms of stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts, health experts note.
“Every time you curse or worry because you are stuck in traffic and you are going to be late for work, a meeting or say a job interview, you are slowly building stress. Adrenaline is released and your body reacts to that. Overtime, it affects you physiologically and physically,” explains Dr Kamundi.
She adds: "Some of the physical conditions being experienced can be linked to traffic.”
Individuals also end up developing ulcers, high and low blood pressure, diabetes( because of changes in eating habits) among other complications.
The traffic related stress adds up to the economical woes worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic as households struggle with bills, she adds.
These includes school fees, rent, food, transport costs among other bills.
Many city dwellers have found themselves hoping on a boda-boda to compete their journey as they try and avoid being late for a meeting or work.
Spots common with last mile boda-boda connectivity include Ngara (Thika Road), Westlands(Waiyaki Way) and Nyayo Stadium (Mombasa and Lang'ata roads).
“Watu wengi hushuka matatu wakati jam imeshikana kuingia tao (town). Biashara hua nzuri kuanzia saa tatu hapo mbaka saa sita ,” says Fredrick Kenyatta, a boda-boda operator at the Ngara stage.
This loosely translates to: “A lot of people heading to town alight from passenger service vehicles during heavy traffic. Business is normally good between 9am and noon.”
People are hoping on boda bodas and cars for last minute connectivity. These bikes have become the best alternative to beat traffic
Mobility company–Bolt, which runs a taxi hailing app in Kenya, notes demand for boda-boda's has continued to grow in the city, evidenced by the high number of riders operating in and around the Central Business District.
According to Micah Kenneth, Regional Manager, Bolt East Africa, the company's boda-boda platform has continued to record increased traffic equally with cab rides.
Boda-bodas cut travel time by up to a third he notes. For instance a distance that would take a car four minutes, a boda-boda ride covers the same within two and 2.4 minutes.
“Poeple are hoping on boda bodas and cars for last minute connectivity. These bikes have become the best alternative to beat traffic,” Micah notes.
It costs about Sh220 for a seven kilometres ride compared to Sh440 on a cab.
The government has been keen to invest in a robust road network in and outskirts of the city, with bypasses being a major strategy re-direct traffic away from the city centre, hence de-congesting the city and alleviating the perennial traffic jams.
The bypass highways include Nairobi Northern bypass linking Limuru Road to Thika Road, Nairobi Eastern bypass linking Nairobi-Mombasa Road to Ruiru-Kiambu Road near Kamiti Maximum Security Prison and the Nairobi Southern bypass which stars at the junction of the Nairobi-Mombasa Road and Likoni Road, approximately 10 kilometres south-east of the city centre.
It then stretches to Gitaru, in the town of Kikuyu, in Kiambu county.
There is also the Nairobi Western bypass highway, currently under construction, connecting Gitaru on the Southern Bypass to Ruaka on the Northern bypass.
The Sh17billion road project will be ready by December, according to Transport CS James Macharia, who notes the government is doing a circular road around the city to make sure motorists not interested in passing through the CBD avoid unnecessary jams.
"If you are coming from the side of Thika, you come through Muthaiga; you come through Red Hill, you join this road at Ruaka, and then you can go towards the west without having to go through the city,” he said during a recent tour of road projects in the capital
"The same thing if you are coming from Rift Valley, you can now use Southern Bypass going all the way to City Cabanas towards Mombasa," Macharia added.
Efforts are also in place to build a robust commuter rail network and introduction of a bus rapid transit (BRT) system expected to offer an efficient and time saving public transport mode.
Meanwhile Dr Kamundi says: “ Since you are not able to control everything. Letting off what you can is the beginning of freedom.”
Stuck in traffic? Take deep breaths, destruct yourself with other activities such as reading a book, listen to radio, read and reply to your work emails or have a chat with the person next to you.
