University Of Nairobi: Improving Urban Mobility
Bike share is a program that was launched by the University of Nairobi’s Computing for Development Laboratory. The aim of the program is to improve urban mobility in Kenya, improve health and reduce transport cost.
How it works is that users borrow a bicycle, ride it then return it. Currently, the programme is being run within the University of Nairobi campus among the students and staff. 20 bicycles are currently available for use. A student of staff member requires their National ID as well as their Student ID or Staff ID to access a bike.
After this first phase is tested out, the University plans to work with the County Government of Nairobi as well as other partners in order to implement and scale up the programme. This could be the solution to Nairobi’s traffic challenge.
The Bike Share program was launched as part of the 3rd edition of Nairobi Innovation Week that ran from 6-10 March 2017 with the theme: ‘Innovating to solve Local and Global Challenges’.
In the West and especially in Europe, bicycles are highly utilized for mobility among urban dwellers. Dedicated lanes for cyclists are available for their use making that mode of transportation easy as the cyclists have no need to struggle for space on the road with motorists.
Hopefully, the Bike Share programme will succeed to enable the majority of Kenyans who do not have personal vehicles to have access to an affordable and healthy mode of transportation.
