Decrease of Motorists Travelling to Rural
Decrease of Motorists Travelling to Rural
Due to the difficult economic climate, fewer Kenyans residing in metropolitan areas are traveling upcountry with only a few days left till Christmas.Dickson Mbugua, the chairman of the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) and secretary of the Federation of Public Transport Sector (FPTS), said that main bus stops in the Central Business District (CBD) accounted for 60% of the average daily traffic.
He blamed the drop on the high cost of living brought on by the elevated price of fuel. He also disregarded the Energy and Petroleum Authority’s (EPRA) most recent fuel review, which saw a Ksh5 decrease in diesel, Ksh4 decrease in kerosene, and Ksh2 decrease in gasoline prices.
He made reference to this when he said that the drop is negligible because prices are still more than Ksh 200.”If you increase it consecutively and then decrease it by a small margin, it makes no difference,” he said.In line with previous years, there isn’t as much of a rush among those traveling. It is currently 60% of the typical rush that is being felt.”
Mbugua said that the matatu Saccos frequently obtain a Short Term Road Service License (RSL) in order to obtain a permit to travel large distances in an effort to get by during hard times.”A handful of them (matatus acquiring RSL) exist, albeit fewer than previously. They are primarily related to the North Rift and Western regions,” he noted. According to the chairman of the Welfare Association, most long-distance buses now charge an average fare of Ksh500 more than they did before.
“Of course, the fare has gone up. The current drop in prices is insignificant. It has little effect on the consumption. If one used to pay Ksh1,500, currently it’s around Ksh2,000. You have to account it’s one-way traffic as there are no return trips,” he noted.
Several Saccos, however, refuted his statements by stating that they too saw lengthier lines when travelers started to make reservations in early December.Easy Coach sales woman Mary Ojwang said that reservations started as early as November because Kenyans were looking forward to the holiday season.”On our end, there has been an uptick. We have every available slot. There is no change, in my opinion,” she said.
“Most of our customers began booking since last month, so if you plan to travel right now, it’s going to be particularly difficult.”Long-distance travel throughout the Nyanza, Western, North Rift, South Rift, and Kampala regions is Easy Coach’s primary specialty.
Additionally, a Guardian Coach Bus worker mentioned that more reservations were made in December.”There has been an uptick in bookings, I can say that. They started taking reservations in November,” the agent said.
