Kenyan Diaspora who designed London congestion system promoted in UK
Kenyan scholar, Prof Washington Yotto Ochieng, the man who solved the London transport crisis, has been promoted to serve as a faculty head at United Kingdom’s Imperial College.
Kenyan High Commissioner to UK Manoah Esipisu made the announcement on the evening of Saturday, May 15, that Yotto had been appointed the Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the world-famous college.
Prior to the promotion, the professor served as the Head of the Centre for Transport Studies at the same university.
“A very warm congratulations to Kenyan Prof Washington Yotto Ochieng, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, on being appointed Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the famous Imperial College,” stated Esipisu.
Yotto is credited with solving the London transport crisis through his research interests in the design of positioning and navigation systems for land, sea and air applications; Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS).
He was credited with designing the London Congestion System.
The theory behind the system was for motorists to be charged to drive through certain parts of the city thereby reducing the number of vehicles operating in it.
London authorities had at times dismissed him by questioning his qualifications.
“He really does have a lack of understanding of this scheme. He’s an advocate of satellite technology; that’s his area of expertise and I really don’t know why he’s talking about this.” a representative from the authority had noted at one time.
How the transport system works
The Congestion charge is £11.50 which translates to about Kshs 1,500 daily for driving a vehicle within the charging zone between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday to Friday.
Drivers are allowed free access on weekends, public holidays, between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day inclusive, or between 6:00 pm and 7:00 am on weekdays.
Vehicles also incur extra charges if they produce harmful emissions according to the set standards.
Yotto joined Imperial College in 1997 having previously spent time at the University of Nottingham, where he completed a PhD in Space Geodesy and worked as a Research Associate, and Racal Electronics (Thales), whereas Principle Engineer (Navigation Specialist) he participated in various international consortia developing satellite navigation systems and products.
In 2013, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) in recognition of his exceptional contribution to engineering, and in 2019 he was awarded the Harold Spencer Jones Gold Medal, the highest award from the Royal Institute of Navigation.
Source-https://www.kenyans.co.ke/
Kenyan Diaspora who designed London congestion system promoted in UK
