Transport is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. There are two forms of transport.
a) Traditional forms of transport
b) Modern forms of transport.
Although some of these means are considered traditional, they are still commonly used
today.
These include:
a) Walking on foot
b) Horse drawn carts
c) Ox-drawn carts
d) Camels carrying luggage
e) Canoeing
These include:
a) People travelling on foot
b) Use of hand-carts
c) Use of animals like donkeys and camels
d) Bicycles e) Ships
f) Cars g) Trains
h) Buses i) Aeroplanes
j) Lorries k) Tankers
m) Pipeline
Road transport is the most common mode of transport used in Africa today. Roads are divided into:
1. The Great North Road: It starts from Cape Town in South Africa, through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Cairo in Egypt.
2. The Trans-Sahara Highway: It begins at Lagos in Nigeria, then crosses to Algiers in Algeria.
3. Cotonou-Gao-Uadja Highway: It connects Benin to Morocco.
4. Trans-Africa Highway: It starts from Mombasa and ends in Lagos Nigeria. It is not fully utilised because it passes through an area that experiences civil wars. Therefore, it is unsafe.
The main water transport in Kenya is found along the coast and on the shores of Lake
Victoria. Mombasa is the leading port of Kenya with a modern port. It handles oil imports, machinery and other commodities.It also serves the landlocked countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Southern Sudan and the eastern part of DRC.
Lake Victoria is well linked by roads and railways to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. With the renewed East African Co-operation, it is hoped that water transport on the lake will develop even more.
African rivers are not very important waterways because they have waterfalls and cataracts. River Tana and River Juba are used by canoes and other small vessels to transport cargo and people.
Air transport is fairly new in Kenya compared to the other three means of transport. Early flights were taken from Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
The first commercial fl ights were through the East African Community which owned the
East African Airways.
After the Community broke up, the government established Kenya Airways in 1977. Today, Kenya Airways is no longer fully government-owned.
It is now jointly owned by the government of Kenya, and individual Kenyans who have bought shares in it.
Dutch airline and KLM, jointly runs fl ights with Kenya Airways. Kenya has three international airports located at Mombasa, Nairobi, and Eldoret.
These airports have facilities to handle large aircrafts both for passengers and for cargo. There are other smaller airports and airstrips in the major towns like Nakuru, Kisumu, Malindi, Lokichogio and Naivasha.
Helicopters are also used to transport people and cargo to areas where roads are impassable or in areas experiencing disasters like fl oods
Railway transport was introduced in Kenya by the colonial government.
It was mainly built to open up the interior of Eastern Africa which produced many agricultural goods.
Work started in Mombasa in 1896 and the line reached Kisumu in 1901. Later, more branch lines were added.
Railways are expensive to build because many African countries do not produce iron and steel locally. They would have to import all the steel.
Road signs inform, warn and advise road users.
They help to control the use of the roads by all road users.
Informative signs tell the road users about the presence of something like a bus stop or a hospital. They are usually enclosed in a blue square or rectangle.
Warning signs notify road users, especially motorists, to be careful because of the nature of the road ahead. They are usually enclosed on a red triangle.
Regulatory signs informs roads users of the rules to be observed on the road. They are usually surrounded by red circle. For example, speed limit, no overtaking and no entry.
Traffic lights help to maintain road safety by controlling the fl ow of vehicles. The colours on the traffi c lights and their meanings are:
Red – Stop
Both motorists and pedestrians should obey traffi c lights.
The main causes of road accidents in Kenya are:
a) Foggy conditions during poor weather.
b) The poor state of roads.
c) People driving while drunk.
d) Over-speeding.
e) Lack of concentration while driving.
f) Failure to obey traffi c rules. For example, parking in the wrong place which causes obstruction to other road users.
g) Driving vehicles that are not in good condition.
h) People driving without attending a qualifi ed driving school.
i) Lax traffi c offi cials who let defective vehicles to pass unnoticed.
j) Overloading vehicles.
k) Driving over long distances without enough sleep and rest.
a) Drivers should obey traffi c rules and observe road signs.
b) Drivers should avoid speeding.
c) People who commit traffi c offences should be fi ned or jailed.
d) Drivers should use headlights whenever there is mist and fog.
e) Drivers should not drive while drunk. If found doing this they should be heavily
fined and their licences withdrawn.
f) Vehicles should be fi tted with speed governors and safety belts.
g) Traffi c police should be on the look-out for speeding vehicles and punish those found breaking the law.
h) Any traffi c police found taking bribes or ignoring traffi c offenders on the road
should be fi ned and dismissed from their jobs.
i) Vehicles which are not roadworthy should not be allowed onto the roads.
j) Only drivers with valid driver’s licences should be allowed to drive on the road.
k) The government should maintain roads so that they are safe to drive on.
l) Drivers should be encouraged to stop and rest during the journey. They should not drive day and night without resting.
Pipeline transports gas, oil amd other liquids substances. They are important for transporting large amounts of water to urban areas and for moving sewage from building for disposal.
Reduces the number of people employed in the transport industry.
Cable is a broad class of transport modes that have cables as the foundation for transporting things or people, often in vehicles called cable cars. The cable may be driven or passive; items may be moved by pulling, sliding, sailing, or by drives within the object being moved on cableways. The use of pulleys and balancing of loads going up and down are common elements of cable transport.They are also used in mountainous areas.
