Thousands Stranded as Bus Fare Doubles

Thousands of Kenyans who went upcountry for both Christmas and New Year festivities have been left stranded in various bus stations across the country.

Matatu operators have taken advantage of the large numbers of passengers to make a kill by double the fare.

Traveling from Kisumu to Mombasa, buses are charging between 3,000 and 3,500 from the normal 1,800 shillings.

From Nairobi to Mombasa, buses are charging between 2,000 and 2,500 shillings from the usual 1,000 or 1,200 shillings.

From Kakamega to Nairobi, passengers are paying between 2,000 and 2,200 shillings from the usual 800 or 1,000 shillings

From Karatina to Nairobi, passengers are paying between 600 and 800 shillings from the normal 250 shillings.

Travelling has been made worse following the move by NTSA to ban night travel for long distance PSV vehicles.

The NTSA is said to have reached the decision following a horror crash at Migaa along Nakuru-Eldoret highway that killed 38 people.

According to NTSA, all long distance PSV vehicles are supposed to operate between 6 am and 7 pm until further notice.

According to a poll conducted by Soko Directory, 49 percent of Kenyans are against the ban saying it will inconvenience thousands of people who are to travel back to their workplaces.

Public schools across the country resumed a new term on 2nd of January 2018. Thousands of students have also been left stranded. Some Kenyans are calling on the Ministry of Education to extend the opening dates of public schools to at least 8th of January.

There are also few PSV vehicles available to cater for the large numbers of passengers from upcountry.

During the month of December alone, more than 340 Kenyans have lost their lives due to road accidents. More than 60 percent of these accidents have happened during the night according to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA).

Kenyans are now calling on the Ministry of Transport, together with NTSA to rethink their decision on night travel ban.