The first bus from the highly anticipated Bus Rapid Transport system, on Tuesday, March 15, made its first trip around Nairobi City.
On board was the Sweden Ambassador to Kenya Caroline Vicini, accompanied by a few staff members from both the embassy and Scania East Africa, one of the players in the upcoming project.
It is not clear which route the bus took, but the passengers on board could not hide their joy, riding the spacious bus.
The bus has a wide aisle, with rows of two passenger seats on each side of the bus complemented with wide windows for proper aeration.
"We’re on the move around the city with the Scania bus, built ready for Nairobi BRT, with our Ambassador Caroline Vicini and Scania leads!" Read a statement from the Embassy.
"We're honored today to have hosted Caroline Vicini, the Swedish Ambassador to Kenya and her team from Sweden Embassy at our Nairobi office. Thank you for visiting us Madam Ambassador!
"A visit to our office would not be complete without a ride on the Scania Bus," stated a representative from Scania.
In January, the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (NaMATA) released a schedule containing the time and routes BRT buses will ferry commuters to and from the Central Business District (CBD) to Nairobi estates.
Nearly 12 BRT buses were unveiled to ply five routes within Nairobi County; Ndovu Line, Simba Line, Chui Line, Kifaru Line and Nyati Line.
Matatu operators around the city have, however, publicly opposed the move which seeks to ban their operations in Nairobi CBD to pave way for the new buses.
The matatus demanded the government to issue Saccos with the number of BRT vehicles to purchase in order to allow them access CBD when the matatu ban will be enforced.
The operators also asked the government to allow a few select matatu Saccos to access the CBD as will the BRT vehicles.
Below is the video:
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