Commuters to brace for fare hikes in new passenger rules
By Christopher Owuor, March 23, 2020Alvin Mwangi, Roy Lumbe and James Magayi
Most public transport operators have welcomed the directive on carrying fewer passengers in bid to curb the spread of Covid-19 but said they will have to increase fares lest they will incur losses.
Speaking to People Daily on phone, chairman of Matatu Owners Association (MOA) Simon Kimutai said despite Health CS Mutahi Kagwe ordering PSV operators to carry less passengers in the fight against the coronavirus, he never gave a clear outline.
Kimutai warned that Kenyans should prepare to dig deeper in their pockets if by any chance the directive will be forcefully effected.
“We don’t have any other choice but to hike fares. The cost of doing business is certainly getting higher each and every day.
I can tell you for a fact that even getting passengers to fill a 14-seater vehicle is becoming difficult. Our daily customers are now working from home,” said Kimutai.
Kimutai further said the sector was in talks with several providers to see how they will have to use cashless transactions.
Disinfections
On the issue of sanitising MOA chairman said prices for disinfectants and sanitisers had gone up and not every matatu could afford them.
“This is a national crisis and the government should subsidise the prices of sanitisers so matatu saccos can afford them.
Imagine how much of the disinfectant we would require, noting the number of trips made in a single day,” he said.
Most operators, which People Daily caught up with said their business has been facing challenges as they are unable even to meet their daily targets.
“It has become hard for us to meet our daily targets. We are being forced to add more trips to see if we will meet our targets,” David Kamau, a driver working with Eastern By Sacco said. Kagwe on Friday directed that 14-seater matatus should carry only eight passengers while 25-seater should only carry 15 passengers.
Kagwe said the decision was reached to ensure there is personal space between passengers.
However in Nakuru matatu operators were in a rush to implement set regulations on social distancing through limiting of passengers.
A spot check by People Daily on various bus termini within the county revealed a number of PSVs had already complied with the directive to carry at least 60 percent of passengers as measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.
At 2NK Sacco stages only eight passengers were allowed to board a 14-seater matatu as the management seeks to implement the order of social distancing as directed by the ministry of health.
Travellers were placed into separate seats within a safe distance of at least one metre with strict instructions not to relocate from their positions as one way to ensure the spread of the virus in PSVs is easily contained.
Social distancing
Joel Muchina, a passenger travelling from Nakuru to Murang’a, welcomed the move of social distancing, saying it will go a long way in complementing the government’s efforts seeking to stop further spread of the virus.
Muchina called on other PSVs to comply with the directive, adding that with the usual Kenyan mentality of doing everything the last minute saying people need to be patriotic and responsible citizens.
“Public service vehicles carry millions of Kenyans everyday and this is the crucial sector that needs to be taken seriously to ensure there is no penetration of the virus. It can be catastrophic,” said Muchina.
He however, noted that fares had slightly gone up, adding that initially they used to pay Sh350 to Murang’a but currently they had to travel with Sh500.
“I am not bothered with adding a few shillings to my usual bus fare, the most crucial part is that we follow the government’s directive on social distancing to stop further spread and I am happy some matatus have complied,” he added.
Government guidelines
At 4NTE stage the situation was the same as no more than eight passengers were allowed to enter one 14-seater matatu as the Sacco moves with speed to implement the set guidelines by the government.
However, this was different among town service operators as 14-seater matatus continued with their normal routine with the directive set to take effect from today.
At 3NS Sacco it was business as usual with routine hygiene exercises of hand washing and disinfecting of vehicles save for the social distancing.
According to the Sacco’s supervisor Johanna Gachau, for the directive to work a number of things have to be looked into by the government, adding that at the moment it is a hard task.
He said the directive is inapplicable, adding that passengers will have to bear with increase in fares so as to accommodate the limited number of people in a single vehicle.
“At long last we will be left with no other option but to slow down business activities, vehicles will be grounded.
If we add even Sh10 at the moment we will get few customers since we depend on them for our daily living it will be chaotic,” said Gachau.