Matatu Operators Make A Kill This Christmas

Fare across the country has skyrocketed to double in some places as Kenyans, eager to join their families for the festivities, dig deeper into their pockets.

At Machakos Country Bus Station in Nairobi, thousands of travellers are scrambling for the few available vehicles even after Christmas with the matatu owners taking the opportunity to hike the fare.

Fare from Nairobi to Bungoma moved from between 800 and 1000 shillings to between 1800 and 2200 shillings on Monday morning with that from Nairobi to Kisumu moving from between 800 and 1000 shillings to between 1500 and 2000 shillings.

Within Nairobi the cost of transport rained hard on those who did not travel back to their villages. Fare from Mlango Kubwa to Nairobi CBD moved from 20 shillings to 50 shillings while that from Eastleigh to Nairobi CBD moved from 30 shillings to 80 shillings.

Those from Githurai are paying between 100 and 150 shillings from between 50 and 70 shillings to Nairobi CBD while those from Langata are paying between 120 and 150 shillings from the normal 100 shillings or 70 shillings in some cases.

Those traveling from the rural coming to Nairobi, however, are paying less than those traveling from Nairobi. From Bungoma to Nairobi, matatus are charging between 1200 and 1300 shillings while from Kitale to Nairobi, the fare is between 1000 and 1300 shillings.

The fare from the rural areas to Nairobi, say from Bungoma to Nairobi for instance, is likely to increase as from the 3rd of January 2017 as many people will be travelling back. During that  time, also, schools will be opening and matatu owners are likely to take that opportunity to hike bus fares again.

Bodaboda operators within the city are also making thousands as they move impatient residents who want to evade long traffic jams that are still ruling the roads unlike other days before. Bodabodas are charging between 100 and 200 shillings from Ngara (Fig Tree Market) to the Nairobi CBD (which is a 15-minute walking distance) with those from Eastleigh paying between 250 and 300 shillings to Nairobi CBD.

Most people, however, have preferred using the services of online taxi operators, Uber. Uber does not put into consideration the number of passengers but trips and friends have been coming together to use Uber to get to their homes.

An estimated fare, using Uber, from Nairobi CBD to Githurai is between 300 to 370 shillings while that from Nairobi CBD to Eastleigh is between 250 and 300 shillings on a cool day (when there are no traffic jams).