We Have Capacity To Make 30 Mass Transit Buses Monthly – Isuzu

Isuzu East Africa has said that it will be able to assemble up to 30 high-capacity buses a month for the planned bus rapid transit system (BRT) in Nairobi

Isuzu director for manufacturing Emmanuel Ogot says that the buses will be assembled using the new body construction standards.

The standards, referred to as KS372:2014, came into effect in May 2017.

However, in October, the County Government of Nairobi barred Isuzu’s BRT buses from starting operations in the city over design concerns.

The County Transport executive Mohamed Dagane said that the buses did not meet the specifications set out by the Ministry of Transport and the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.

“From our side, we are coming up with a solution to address mass transportation of passengers in the city and from a production capacity, we can do up to 30 high-capacity vehicles per month. We are still modifying some aspects in the product and this will dictate how much a single unit will sell. It could be somewhere in the tune of Ksh12 million,” said Mr Ogot.

Read: Is the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) System the Solution to Nairobi’s Heavy Traffic Jam?

The government is set to launch six BRT corridors in Nairobi in a move aimed at reducing traffic congestion within the capital city.

The corridors include Jomo Kenyatta International Airport-Likoni-James Gichuru-Rironi and Bomas-Ruiru roads, Ngong road-Juja, Mama Lucy-T-Mall and Balozi to Imara roads.

The corridors will hold up to 950 BRT buses, reducing time and cost of travel by up to 70 per cent.

By last month, the Ksh9.6 billion Nairobi Bus Rapid Transit plan had received a major boost after the European Union committed a Ksh5 billion grant towards its implementation.