Nairobi was ranked at position two among African cities with the most traffic below Lagos in Nigeria and in 10th position globally.
According to Traffic Index by Numbeo, Nairobi had an index of 249.0 while Nigeria's was pegged at 354.5. The report revealed that the time index was 52.7 in minutes.
This indicates the amount of average time Kenyans in Nairobi spend on commute time. Per the ranking, the carbon dioxide emission index in Nairobi stands at 7772.3.
The traffic in Nairobi has been a major concern among Kenyans not only those who live in the city but others travelling for business.
In the city, a major mode of movement is public transport which results in increased traffic congestion in the capital. This is mainly used by Kenyans travelling to the city for jobs.
Some of the causes of increased traffic in the capital are the increase in the population and urbanisation as well as the number of Kenyans owning vehicles.
Notably, some of the roads which have been known for excessive traffic and lead to the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD) include; Thika Road, Jogoo Road, Mombasa Road, Lang'agta Road, Ngong Road and Waiyaki Way.
Some of these roads accommodate over 8,000 matatus daily ferrying thousands of passengers to and fro. Data from the Nairobi Metropolitan Region Transportation revealed that in 2021, passengers spent 57 minutes on the road for distances that should take 10 minutes.
Per some prior research, commuters spend over 40 hours each year stuck in traffic and the increase in a number of private vehicles has exacerbated the situation.
On the other hand, Lagos had an estimated 68.8 time index in minutes. Other countries in the continent include; Cairo in Egypt, Pretoria, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban in South Africa.
In the continent, Cairo has a traffic index of, Pretoria at 228.1, Cape Town at 209.3, Johannesburg at 201.8 and Durban at 119.1. The commute time ranged between 68.8 and 25.5 minutes.
Globally, Los Angeles came in second place behind Lagos at a traffic index of 354.5 and an average commute time of 57.1 minutes. Other cities in the top 10 were Colombo, Delhi, Dhaka, Kolkata, Mexico, Mumbai Jakarta and Bangalore.