COMMUTER FARES

Public transit system is a very lucrative business, it is a business where you can either get a lot of money or loose a lot depending on how the business is being run.  On normal occasions, the commuter fares differ depending on the time one is leaving the house or leaving town i.e. off peak and on peak.  The on peak charges are high because of traffic jam and also because most passengers are heading to one direction. Thus, meaning that on their trip back they might not get enough commuters on the way.

Commuter fares in Kenya are set by the operators and this is an indication that budgeting for fare in Nairobi can be quite a challenge for commuters. One can never be sure whether what they paid in the morning going to work is the same fare they will pay coming back home.  Therefore with such unpredictability commuters have to adjust to this fiasco.

Commuter fares in Nairobi, change depending on what is happening or even how the whether changes.  The operators take advantage of different situations to mint money from commuters.  Just like commuters, the transport system also adjusts to the prevailing weather patterns.  Like rain for example, to matatu transport a drop of rain is a booming business for them and the more the downfall the more the fare goes up to even more than half the price.  And for those passengers that had not budgeted for eventualities they end up staying at the termini for longer hours just hoping that the fares will get back to normal.

Another incident that causes commuter fares in Nairobi to be hiked is when there is Police inspections to matatus.  In this case the matatus are less because others avoid going to the road because they know they have not complied with the traffic rules and regulations.   This is whereby despite hiking the fares the few matatus that are carrying passengers may not even take you to your intended destination.  They leave passengers on the way and they end up walking very long distances to get to their intended destination, this shows how messy the transport system in kenya is.

Since commuter fares in Kenya keep on going up and up, do we even get to have that sigh of relieve when the fuel prices have gone down.  When the fuel prices go up, you will definitely feel the pinch but in cases where the Energy Regulatory Commission have announced a price drop no matatu operator will say that “our prices are now dropping” or you will be told “utakufa ukingoja” (you will die waiting for that to happen).

I have always emphasized that as a commuter, if you don’t see any sign board showing prices to where you are headed don’t forget to ask the fare they are charging to your intended destination lest you pay more.  Always ask for you change or read writings on some matatus where they say, “kulipa ni lazima, change ni ukikumbuka” (paying is a must but you will get your change if you remember to ask for it).