Nyeri's ultramodern bus park to ease congestion within CBD

Public Service Vehicles' (PSV) operators and traders will soon be relocated from Nyeri town’s Central Business District (CBD) to the ultramodern Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima Bus Park which is 1.5 kilometres away.

The county government wants the Sh600 million facility, which includes a bus terminus and an Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) market, be occupied so as to ease congestion at the bustling Nyeri town.

The facility, located at the town’s Asian Quarters estate, was opened by President William Ruto on August 7, 2023.

According to Mr Ndirangu Gachunia, who is the county executive committee member for Lands, Physical Planning, Housing and Urban Development, PSV operators have already ballot for their spaces at the bus park.

“Operators in the transport sector have already balloted their spaces. We have prepared the bus park and the ESP market. We want to assure our people that the facility will soon be fully occupied. That instruction has been issued by Governor Mutahi Kahiga and we will adhere to it,” Mr Gachunia said.

Mr Gachunia appealed to residents to support the town’s reorganisation process, amid resistance by a section of stakeholders who claim that the relocation will deny them business.

“I am urging the people of Nyeri to support this system because this is the only way we are going to open up this town. Nyeri was ranked position three in terms of top Gross County per Capita in the country. We cannot have such a big contribution to the economy yet our CBD is not well planned,” the CEC said.

“There will be no parking for PSVs in the CBD. We are going to reorganise the old bus termini and close some of them. We are also going to make provisions for a circulation stage in town where drivers can drop off passengers,” he added.

But Ms Mary Njeri, a fruit vendor at the CBD, said the reorganisation of the transport system will ‘kill’ her business.

“I sell my fruits at the lower bus park in town which hosts some commuters traveling to Nairobi and other parts of the country. If this terminus is closed, it simply means that I will be rendered jobless. The new bus park is far away from the CBD and it will inconvenience so many people,” Ms Njeri said.

The CEC further announced that all garages, trucks and pickups will be relocated from the CBD to the new facility, adding that enough space has been created for them to conduct their businesses.

“We have agreed with the mechanics in town that they will move away from the CBD. We have a space for them to set up their garages at the Asian Quarters. We have also created an ample space where all the trucks and pickups offering logistics services will be located. This idea here is to clean up the town and create enough space for growth,” Mr Gachunia said.

Dumpsite

Initially, the Field Marshal Muthoni Kirima Bus Park was a dumpsite – Asian Quarters dumpsite – and the process of converting it started in 2019 and was completed in 2021.

It was financed through the World Bank under the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) with an aim of spurring growth through improved physical infrastructure development.

The facility has 240 bays for matatu, taxi, bus and tuk-tuk, 51 lorry bays, 94 passenger waiting bays, 40 parking bays and 98 booking offices.

The park has 600 business stalls, five(5) sanitation blocks, water tanks, and a modern solid waste chamber.

“Once the facility will be fully operational, we estimate to be collecting from it a total of Sh1 million revenue per day. It will be one of the biggest bus parks in this region and the country at large. We expect it to be vibrant and boost our economy,” Mr Gachunia added.