Vision 2030 - Nairobi Metro moving towards smart commuter train travel
The recent launch of Nairobi Commuter Rail Service (NCRS) is a big leap towards creating a positive travel experience for many urban dwellers yearning for comfort during daily commute from and to places of work or business or school.
The revamped urban train transport system has potential of creating a pleasant passenger experience from start to end of each train journey. Many will attest that an efficient commuter urban rail system can lead to happier commuting experience. If good commuting experience is sustained consistently, it will promote wider adoption of urban train travel within Nairobi Metro and thereby assist NCRS achieve its aim of transporting between 5 to 15 million passengers initially per annum.
The Nairobi Metro 2030 strategy identified the need for creating a world class metropolis by 2030 using different initiatives including convenient and efficient public transport services offering minimum connection time and revamping of the commuter rail system is one step towards that aim. As per UN Habitat, sustainable transportation can enhance economic growth and improve accessibility. In addition, sustainable transport achieves better integration of the economy while respecting the environment, improving social equity, health, resilience of cities and urban -rural linkages. This is in line with the global push of creating sustainable urban transport as per Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by ensuring accessible, safe and sustainable transport systems by 2030.
The launch of the Nairobi Commuter train is anchored on creating predictable and more regular inbound and outbound travel schedules over the whole day instead of the previous scenario where the commuter train schedule was timed on one way Nairobi City inbound journey during the morning rush hour and return trip during the evening rush hour. Organized commuter trail services have the opportunity to attract a wide mass of travelers on a daily basis who are yearning for predictability, comfort and minimum transit hubs connection times.
The move towards a more regular commuter train schedule throughout the day has potential to inspire wider adoption of urban train transport that will provide a different alternative to the sometimes chaotic public buses (‘Matatu’) system. The use of commuter trains provides an alternative to reaching the place of work or business for many within Nairobi Metro.
As the Government moves towards actualizing the strategy of transforming urban commuter train transport within Nairobi Metropolitan, it is envisaged that urban commuter train transport ecosystem will involve customers paying for services across multiple modes via a single entity. Both these services and the infrastructure on which the system will operate will be provided by many different organisations – customer service providers, mode operators and infrastructure providers. This scenario will require a degree of control and cohesion – for example, regulation over the market for integrated customer services, control over quality and safety of services provision and control over the construction and operation of the rail infrastructure.
"The aim of the rail system is more than running trains on tracks on time. It is about getting people where they want to go, transporting freight and meeting the needs of society and the economy."
The aim of the rail system is more than running trains on tracks on time. It is about getting people where they want to go, transporting freight and meeting the needs of society and the economy. To do this, the railways need to become more integrated with other modes of transport – car, cycling, bus, plane and walking. This requires greater collaborative working between infrastructure providers, operators, different transport modes and customer-interfacing platforms. This is the vision encapsulated in the Government of Kenya and World Bank funded Nairobi Metropolitan Services Improvement Project (NaMSIP) and Nairobi Metro 2030 Strategy.
Nairobi commuter train is operating within the world of smart things including smart phones, smart TV and Nairobi has entered into the age of smart commuter train travel. An analytical approach which filters and prepares data to access values gained from model development can assist in customer management, limit operational delays and build trust on reliability of the commuter train service.
Convenience is also another paramount consideration in building demand for the Nairobi commuter train service. The adoption of smart ticketing systems might provide far reaching solutions to tough problems of timely revenue collection, reducing fare evasion and collecting customer demographic and travel patterns.
There are a wide range of smart ticketing options including; a dedicated transport smart card, a contactless debit or credit card, an app on a smartphone or electronic device and a smartphone emulating a credit or debit card. Collecting key customer data using one off ticket purchase system is limited due to the limited range of patterns that can be adduced and the fact that this is more of a one off transactional review. Therefore smart ticketing systems can provide operators with critical data on passengers travel patterns over time and identification of different customer segments. The smart ticketing system will need to operate within an ecosystem of the Nairobi commuter train operations including service providers, Government systems and mobile phone operators.
Factors that persuade people to use urban commuter trains are complex and varied. Experience in other jurisdictions indicate that price is key to incentivizing adoption of smart train travel options. Trust, loyalty are also important factors too. People value smart ticketing and it will increase overall uptake.
But there are other factors with greater power to incentivize customers to travel more often on public rail transport including comfort, reliability, cleanliness, safety and convenience.
Nairobi Commuter Train system has the opportunity to redefine mass public transport within Nairobi Metro and bring a catalyze societal shift back to organized mass public mass transport that Nairobi City was known for during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. NCRS has the opportunity to create a revamped urban mass transit industry that is built around its customers and the communities and local businesses it serves by focusing on reliability, punctuality, safety and security and accessibility.
The era of smart things is with us and Nairobi Commuter Rail Service (NCRS) has the biggest chance to mainstream digitization of end to end passenger centric services in public transport and thereby create a multiplier effect in mass public transport in Kenya.
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Samuel Gikonyo
Senior Manager Portfolio and Programme Management, PwC East Africa region E: samuel.g.gikonyo@pwc.com T: +254 (20) 2850000
