A new day, dawn breaks, the chirping of birds starts to descend… but the humming of cars, prayers of churches and moseques are still loud. These days Addis Ababa announces new day by horns of cars. On my way to work every week day, I always see people running to catch taxis, buses or the train. It is immediately when the dawn breaks the movement of people in the streets of Addis Ababa usually starts. You might wonder how early people wake up. A long queue, a commotion of people and crowded streets are some of the things that await the city dwellers at daybreak.
Students, labourers, skilled workers of different private or government organiz ations and business people make their journey to their respective jobs. It kinds of feel a unique movie scene with congested streets as well as to and fro hurrying people. For one thing, it is a hopeful atmosphere to see students eager to go to school and workers dedicated to their jobs. But on the otherside, it is a horryfying scene exposing the transportation challenges Addis Ababa is currently facing. I have witnessed people becoming anxious and restless not to be late to their classes or works. Such hectic situation leads to traffic accidents. It also oversahdows the beauty of Addis Ababa that is being supported by construction of highways and skyrocket buildings.
There were many occasions I myself was in the middle of a long queue. There were some instances that I arrived late to my appointments and even arrived late at work places. I have discussed with strangers whether the transportaion problems will be solved. We have contemplated many ways that the transportaion could be eased.
It is on the news the city administration is building different roads, purchasing buses and increasing the number of trains Addis Ababa rail in a bid to solve transportaion woes. Different projects which government hopes to ease transportation challenges with are on their way too. But at the same time there is an influx of people to the city, new neighborhoods are emerging and number of businesses and schools are increasing sharply. Therefore, supply continues to overlap with the demand.
Residents for their part are doing everything at their disposal to manage the transportaion challenges. For most part, they rent houses near to their working places or schools their children go to. Waking up as early as possible, using public transport and making social and work appointments to the time when there is no as such congestion are also some of the things people in Addis do to cope up with transportation challenge.
Traffic congestion in urban areas is inevitable. It is a constant challenge even in developed nations where there are many roads and modes of transport are diversified. As the Brookings Institution has pointed out, traffic jams happen because people are all trying to get to work and school at the same time. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, of course. Having people work and learn together—at the same time—is probably good for our society. It lets people make friends, talk on various sociopolitical issues. Unfortunately, the movement of people at the same time leads to increased traffic.
Parellel to efforts of building roads, introducing new modes of transport and buying buses, I think there is one thing government can do. That is adopting flex work system. Japan for instance has adopted Flex work system to ease transport congestion in rush hour. According to Japanese Flex Work System, the flextime for most employees means shifting the work day by an hour either way. Sometimes by two hours. They say the idea of flexible working times won favor because of the sheer volume of people commuting all at once during the usual office hours. Starting a little earlier or a little later helped reduce congestion just enough to make rush hour bearable. Hence, if Addis Ababa adopts this system, traffic congestion could be eased and service availabilty will also be doubled. Life can significantly imporved as city dweller can access different modes of transportation easily and quickly. Most importantly, works and school time won’t be affected by tardiness or abscene. It will also allow citizens to access public services without even asking permissions from their respective work places.
Making the transportation convinent by employing this easy but effective method also helps improve the image of the city. People can move easily, attend artfares, sport events and visit touristic places. I dream of a day Addis Ababa becoming more comfortable place to live. That would be a brand new day residents and visitors be relieved. Get enough sleep, reach their working places with energy and passion. It would also make new toursit sites like Unity Park, Entoto Park and others accessible to working people. People would be singing:
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
It’s a new life
For me
Not to mention, Addis Ababa is a diplomatic center: a seat of African Union Headquarters, United Nations Economic Commssion for Africa and many other regional and international agencies. This fact coupled with its historical cultural and political significane draw huge number of visitors. Therefore, solving the transportaion issue is in the best interest of every one.
BY KFLEEYESUS ABEBE
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 13 APRIL 2022
