Citizen TV anchor Victoria Rubadiri, on the night of Saturday, December 7, took her viewers through a practical report that involved her cycling down one busy highway in Nairobi, Waiyaki Way.
The anchor introduced the news item insinuating that cycling would be a better option to navigating the city traffic but also noting that Nairobi's design did not include a bike lane.
She further got more practical and engaged in a competition with her onscreen driver who was to cover the same distance in a private car while she cycled. A test that she won but with soiled shoes.
"I am going to attempt to cycle down Waiyaki Way, just close to the Westlands roundabout down to the University Way roundabout to get a sense of what it is like to use this (cycling) mode of transport.
"Why, you may ask, well, it is certainly faster than sitting in traffic and earlier this week Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko had encouraged Nairobians to embrace non-motorised transport to reduce the number of cars on the road," stated Rubadiri ahead of the exercise.
She hopped onto her bicycle and started riding but disclosed that she faced hurdles along the way describing Nairobi motorists as less than accommodating.
She also highlighted the challenge of lacking a specialised bike lane so she had to manoeuvre between cars.
"We waited for over 10 minutes for my colleague David who just passed us. Clearly the bus was faster," she narrated after arriving at the destination.
During the exercise, the anchor also revealed some unsettling numbers including 90,000, a figure that the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) estimated to be new vehicles that get into Nairobi roads every year.
The resultant traffic snarl-up costs the country revenue to the tune of Ksh50 million daily.
