Kenyan Woman Charges Motorists to Use Her Farm as Shortcut During Traffic Jam
- A woman along Mombasa Road charged motorists to use her farm as a shortcut during heavy traffic jam caused by an accident
- Faced with gridlock, desperate drivers willingly paid to bypass the traffic via her land as she personally monitored the shortcut
- A video of the incident went viral, showing the woman confidently managing traffic and collecting payments
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With the cost of living rising and jobs hard to come by, many people are finding clever ways to make some extra cash.
Source: Facebook
This was the case for one woman along Mombasa Road who opened up her land for motorists to drive through for a fee.
Why Nairobi motorists paid to pass through shortcut
In a video shared on social media, the woman was seen speaking to several drivers, asking them to pay their dues before driving through her land.
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Reports indicate that there had been an accident along Mombasa Road, causing a traffic snarl-up that had lasted for quite some time.
Desperate to get moving, drivers stuck in the jam paid her to use her farm as a shortcut to continue their journey.
Strong and vibrant, she was heard engaging with motorists as she stood nearby to ensure no one slipped through without paying.
“Pay your KSh 100 and go, please,” she said.
Residents also gathered to witness the entrepreneurial woman collecting her quick earnings, as passengers who had alighted from their vehicles could be heard in the background urging their drivers to pay her so they could proceed.
Kenyans express mixed reactions
While many Kenyans praised her for smart thinking and entrepreneurship, others criticised the move as opportunistic.
Jeremy Mbwika:
“Even our driver paid KSh 200, then when we arrived, he told each of us to contribute KSh 100 for fuel because the route he used was very long, and we paid.
Georgie Mokuasi:
“This is what we call smart thinking.”
Mkaluma Zoghora:
“My rates would include: KSh 10,000 for trailers, KSh 5,000 for buses, KSh 2,000 for vans, and KSh 500 for motorbikes.”
Evance:
“I mean, that’s exactly what the government does with expressway toll fees, go the long way or pay for the shortcut.”
Edward Kariuki:
“That’s how God remembers His chosen ones. Mama, today don’t eat greens, today it’s chapati and meat. The situation brought blessings. If I’ve made any mistakes in Kikamba, forgive me.
KeyOne Brand's:
“She did a very good thing. Hata angeilipisha trailers 1500, FBs 1000, and others 500. They spend a lot on traffic police, and it should also wake up leaders to expand the roads.”
Miriam Wavinya:
“If we met, you’d have to tell me why I need to pay to use your land, that’s a public route. Put yourself in others’ shoes first, this is greed while people are suffering.
Source: Facebook
Impact of traffic congestion in Nairobi
Nairobi is infamous for its severe traffic congestion, with daily jams that cost city dwellers valuable time, billions in lost productivity. It also causes adverse effects on the environment due to pollution.
A previous report released by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) cited high travel demand, the nature of travel behaviour patterns, and limited choice in mode of transport as some of the reasons for traffic jams in the city.
Bad driving habits, poor road conditions, increased urban population, inefficient road design, poor traffic management systems, among others, were also listed.
The report stated that traffic congestion leads to a loss of productive work hours for labour, reduced access to the factors of production and consumption.
Other impacts of traffic jams in Nairobi were also identified as increased costs of production, reduced city competitiveness, adverse impacts on quality of life, health, and welfare and environmental pollution.
Kakamega woman makes over KSh 1.2m profit from farming
In other news, TUKO.co.ke reported that a 30-year-old woman from Mumias, Kakamega county, shared her wins and challenges in running a poultry farm.
Mary Nyadimo said she invested KSh 200,000 into the poultry business in 2023 and, after a few months, began earning significant profits of over KSh 1.2 million.
She encouraged aspiring farmers to start small and remain fully involved in order to succeed in poultry farming.
Racheal Nyaguthie, HoD Human Interest, added details of the impact of traffic congestion in Nairobi.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
