Kisumu County – Transport

Before the jet airline era, Kisumu was a landing point on the British flying boat passenger and mail route from Southampton to Cape Town. Kisumu linked Port Bell and Nairobi.

Kisumu is served by Kisumu International Airport which has international status, with regular daily flights to Nairobi, Entebbe, and Mombasa. Expansion of the airport cargo facility after completion of the passenger terminals is currently going on in anticipation of increased trade brought about by the recreated East African Community of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Southern Sudan.

Water

Lake Victoria ferries have operated from the port linking the railway to Mwanza and Bukoba in Tanzania, and to Entebbe, Port Bell, and Jinja in Uganda. The first steam ships built in Kisumu in 1905 were the SS Sybila and the SS Nyanza.

Rail

As mentioned above under 'History', the Uganda Railway from the port of Mombasa reached Kisumu in 1901. Currently (2021) no passenger trains are operated between Nairobi and Kisumu. The newer standard gauge railway is currently (2020) being extended from Nairobi to Kisumu and a new passenger terminus is planned for the city.

Road

President Kibaki launched a Ksh. 6.8 billion road project for a major overhaul of Kisumu's road network on 24 July 2009. The city is connected to the cities of Nakuru, Nairobi and Mombasa via the A104 highway and to the north rift city of Eldoret via the B1 highway. A 450 km lake victoria ring road along the shores of the lake is currently under construction and will pass by the city.