Passengers plying the Central Kenya route will henceforth have to dig deeper into their pockets to pay their fares after Matatu Owners from the region announced an increase in fare charges by at least 30 percent.
The move was expected after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced new fuel prices with Super Petrol increasing by Sh 20 to a record high Sh179.30 per litre and diesel by Sh 25 to Sh165 for the period ending October 14.
The meeting held in Thika town, Central Kenya matatu owners announced an increase in fare by 30 percent.
Mount Kenya Matatu Owners Association chairman Micah Kariuki said at the meeting held in Thika Town: “Yesterday alone we made huge challenges that we don’t know when we will recover. We agree Kenyans are pressed but we can no longer operate on losses. We have therefore unanimously agreed to increase the fare by a small margin of 30 percent.”
The ‘small margin’ here means that passengers traveling from Thika town to Nairobi will now pay almost double what they are used to, from Kes 50 to between Kes 80 and Kes 100.
