Urban Survival Guide: How to Cope in Traffic
Nairobi is notorious for its heavy traffic. City residents frequently endure long journeys to and from work/school every day. According to IBM’s Commuter Pain Index in 2011, Nairobi was ranked as having the fourth most painful travelling experience out of the 20 cities involved in the survey. Since 2011 the situation has not really improved, so here are a couple of ways you can survive the nasty travelling experience:
Avoid peak times
If possible, try to travel when less cars are on the road. Nairobi’s traffic is erratic, however in the morning traffic is often at its peak between 6 a.m to 8 a.m while in the evening, it’s at its peak between 5 p.m to 8 p.m. Therefore, if you want to beat the traffic, you may have to adjust your schedule by waking up early and leaving work early or a bit late too.
Avoid high traffic roads
Certain roads such as Ngong Road, Mombasa Road and Langata Road have heavier traffic than other roads. Where possible, use an alternative route to lessen the time you’ll spend on the road.
Read a book
Do not just sit in the vehicle idling and watching other immobile vehicles in traffic. Take the opportunity to read a book. Alternatively, if you are driving you can listen to an audio book- use earphones/headphones if you are using public transport.
Listen to music
Perhaps books are not your thing. If that is the case,listening to your favourite songs is a great way to pass time and relieve the stress of being caught up in traffic. Investing in quality earphones/headphones or a decent sound system for your car would be a good idea.
Listen to radio
If you have to endure long spells on the road in the morning or evening, tune in to radio. Depending on your preference, there are radio stations that play non stop music, stations that have interesting talk shows and others with hilarious banter that will provide your daily dose of laughter. Listening to radio is advisable because most radio stations give traffic reports that will help you evade roads with traffic.
Get a traffic app
The best way to beat traffic is to avoid getting stuck in it in the first place. Today, apps like Waze and Ma3route can help you do just that. These apps rely on crowdsourcing to relay traffic updates to the public. Also, Ma3route has active social media pages on Twitter and Facebook that give real time traffic updates.
Make a pit stop
Evade the gridlock by stopping to meet up with a friend(s) at a restaurant or pub. This is especially ideal on Friday if you do not have to work the following day and it’s also a good way to kill time while the road decongests. UP even curated a list of pubs within the Westlands area for you to do just that! However, if you are drinking and you have to drive, don’t have one too many!
