Planning to travel upcountry during X-mass, brace for fare hikes of up to 108%

As the holiday season fast approaches, city residents are preparing for the familiar tradition of travelling upcountry to their rural homes for the festivities.

The tradition often comes with ever-increasing expenses, spanning from fare hikes and expenditure costs on the back of yearly increases in the general cost of living.

A survey conducted by the Eastleigh Voice in Nairobi ascertained that most bus companies and the fourteen-seater vans, commonly known as shuttles, are planning to adjust their fares as the festive season begins, likely starting around the 7th.

The companies the reporter spoke to exhibited full confidence in hiking fares without any remorse that the cost of living has hard-hit a majority of households this year alike the previous year.

While most bus companies have so far reported lower-than-usual bookings, operators are hopeful that this will pick up from the end of November.

For instance, a passenger travelling the Nairobi-Nakuru-Kapsabet route to Kakamega using Easy Coach will pay Sh1,800 in December compared to the current price of Sh1,650. This a nine per cent increase.

Compared to last year, the charge is Sh100 more when a single ticket was going at Sh1,700.

The Guardian Coach Bus Service said bookings slated for December will be going at approximately Sh1,800-Sh1,900 compared to current bookings priced at Sh1,650 under the aforementioned sample route.

At the renowned Country Bus Station, known for its low-cost buses, several employed operators who spoke on condition of anonymity expressed the belief that fares are certain to rise.

"A majority of the buses here now charge Sh1,200 for the Nairobi-Mumias route, but come December, this could have even doubled up to Sh2,500 per person," said one of the respondents who identified himself as Cleophas.

"Sometimes when the demand gets much higher, the price could even reach Sh3,000 per person." This translates to about a 108 per cent hike.

Shuttles such as Transline Classic, Blueline Safaris, and North Rift Shuttle also indicated that come December, fares would be revised upwards by a margin of almost Sh700 from the current cost of about Sh1,600.

An employee at one of the shuttles said fares could further go upwards to almost double depending on the demand.

Public Service Vehicle (PSV) operators have often hiked fares on various routes during festivities, taking advantage of the transport crisis and leaving many passengers stranded.

At some point, some travellers have opted to cancel their travel plans because of the costly fares.

Grace Maloba, a mother of four and a resident of Pipeline Estate, says for her to travel to her rural home in Mumias with her whole family, she will need not less than Sh12,000 one way (at the average rate of Sh2,000 during the period) on transport alone.

"This is extremely expensive because I still have school fees come the start of the new year," Maloba said.

She added that the transport costs often lead her and her family to choose to stay in the city and send whatever little they can to relatives in the village instead of spending it on travel.

With prices rising towards December, the Matatu Owners Association stated that there is little that can be done about what it described as the results of market forces. It justified the fare increases by its members during the festive season.

"Revising fare prices during this period could be justifiable on their end as they seek to meet the transport costs. A vehicle has to make a full roundtrip in a day, whether with passengers or not," the association said.