From accidental ride to early conversion: Why the expressway could bring positive change

Last Saturday I drove to the city centre, for the first time this year, using the old Mombasa Road, as other motorists flew past on the new Nairobi Expressway. Now, the old Mombasa Road means the road “downstairs,” as opposed to the new one, which we could call “upstairs.”

But I got to the upstairs road by accident. Driving from Westlands to catch a theatre performance at the Kenya National Theatre, I accidentally got onto the expressway, having been misled by the attendants who had placed barriers to warn motorists that the road ahead had a toll fee and one needed cash.