Astana’s traffic woes: need for modern transport solutions

Every September, when schools and universities reopen, buses in Astana turn into “sardine cans.” People stand shoulder to shoulder: students with backpacks, retirees with grocery bags, parents with kids and strollers. Morning and evening rush hours become a true test of endurance.

This overcrowding isn’t just a seasonal inconvenience – it’s a clear sign that the city’s infrastructure is falling behind its rapid growth. In recent years, many new residential complexes have been built, especially on the city’s left bank. Entire new districts have appeared without proper public transport connections. As a result, bus routes now stretch far into distant neighborhoods, weaving across the city because these areas were developed without a solid transport plan.

Urban planner V. Filatov notes that the authorities should have avoided building large housing clusters in places where infrastructure couldn’t keep up. Otherwise, residents are forced to travel long distances every day for work or study. Meanwhile, key public facilities – schools, universities, hospitals – are still concentrated in the city center, which means tens of thousands of people travel back and forth every morning and evening. The result: daily traffic jams that have become a part of life in Astana.

In his address to the nation on September 8, 2025, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also stressed that the capital’s population growth requires proper city development – roads, public transport, and social infrastructure must work together as one system. Yet in practice, housing construction is moving much faster than new transport routes, and residents pay for this imbalance every day with their time and nerves.

City officials are trying short-term fixes, like staggering start times for government workers, students, and schoolchildren. The logic is simple: if not everyone leaves home at the same time, traffic should ease. But urban experts warn this won’t last – businesses and services will just adjust to the new schedule, and within months everything will be back to normal.

Another frequently mentioned idea is to add more buses. But this alone won’t solve much: extra buses get stuck in the same traffic and fall behind schedule. Crowds build up at stops, and when a bus finally arrives, people rush in at any cost.

Astana needs bolder solutions:

1.⁠ ⁠Peak-hour express routes. During morning and evening rush hours, run direct buses from densely populated districts to major transport hubs. If the first part of the trip is fast and comfortable, people are more willing to make transfers.

2.⁠ ⁠Dedicated bus lanes (BRT). Like Istanbul’s Metrobus, where buses run down the center of main roads, separated from general traffic. Building just a couple of Bus Rapid Transit corridors on Astana’s main avenues could transform city mobility.

3.⁠ ⁠“Smart corridors” that give buses priority. Adaptive traffic lights that turn green when a bus is approaching have proven effective in many cities. In Astana, such corridors could connect the left and right banks.

These measures aren’t expensive and could be rolled out quickly. Unlike massive projects, they could bring real improvements fast.

Of course, they would make life easier for passengers – but they won’t eliminate traffic jams entirely. Roads will stay clogged if the city keeps growing without expanding roads, bridges, and public facilities in sync. What’s needed is a systemic approach: linking housing development to transport planning and creating new hubs for jobs and universities outside the city center. Only then can Astana tackle the root cause of its “chronic gridlock.”

Right now, the lack of such planning directly affects daily life: a young parent struggling to get on a packed bus with a stroller, an elderly person waiting half an hour at a stop, a student late for class – all feel like the system is working against them.

If nothing changes, Astana risks cementing its image as a city of traffic and inconvenient transfers. But this crisis could be turned into an opportunity – a push to build a modern, efficient transport system. That will take political will and honest dialogue with residents. People don’t want abstract plans or glossy strategies; they want real changes: express routes, free-flowing bus lanes, and convenient transfer hubs.

Without that, every autumn will bring the same scene again: buses packed to the brim, and a city choking on its own growth.