Kenya is set to rescind on its earlier decision to obtain 64 high capacity buses from South Africa for its proposed bus rapid transport systems (BRT).
According to a news report by the Business Daily, treasury has decided to cut its initial order of the buses from South Africa (SA) to 32 with the remaining half to be sourced from local assemblers.
“We are set to acquire only 32 BRT buses from South Africa. The rest of the buses will be sourced from local manufacturers across the country,” Transport secretary James Macharia is quoted as saying by the Business Daily.
The 64 buses were set to cost tax payers Ksh. 1.6 billion with each bus reportedly commanding a Ksh. 25 million asking price but it is yet to be revealed whether obtaining the buses locally will cut down treasury’s initial budget.
“We will provide you with details about financing at a later date,” Transport CS Macharia added in the Business Daily report.
The announcement comes six months after the European Union allocated Ksh. 5 billion to treasury to support the initiative. The treasury has similarly set aside Ksh 5.53 billion to go into the construction of special lanes for the BRT high-capacity buses.
The BRT programme has been borrowed from Colombia’s bus rapid transit model in Bogota in an effort to support Nairobi’s rickety public commuter services industry while easing congestion in the city and its environs.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (Namata) has already mapped out lanes dedicated for the buses on Thika Superhighway and other major roads in the city such as Jogoo Road, Mombasa Road, Outer Ring Road, Haile Selassie Avenue, Moi Avenue, Kenyatta Avenue and University Way.
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