Barely a month to the festive season, long-distance buses have since reported a high number of travelers to upcountry.
Buses especially those heading to western Kenya are fully booked ahead of Christmas holidays.
Ena Coach buses plying Busia, Siaya and Bondo routes from Nairobi are fully booked up to December 24, 2021.
Guardian Angel buses from Nairobi en route Kakamega and Busia is also booked to capacity, while Easy Coach has few seats left which are set to be snapped up in the coming days.
Guardian Bus Service is charging Ksh.1,200 to ferry passengers to Busia, Kisumu, Kakamega and Mumias from Nairobi down from Sh1,650. An amount it was charging before the state lifted intercountry movement restrictions.
Ena Coach charges a flat fare of Ksh.1,200 on routes such as Kisii, Kisumu, Homabay and Rongo from Nairobi, up from Ksh.1,000 early this year.
Public Service Vehicles (PSV) operators applying long routes welcomed the move by President Uhuru Kenyatta on vacating the nationwide curfew that was in place since March 2020 to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Chairman of the Association of Bus Operators Edwin Mukabanah said they have lost Ksh.30 billion since the measures were introduced.
“We ask matatu operators to now reduce fare, but we must also consider the high price of fuel,” he said.
Local air transport and SGR were not affected by reduction of passengers order.
Local air travel resumed on July 15 last year and international flights on August 1, 2020.
Rail transport resumed July 20 while public service vehicles on July 21, 2020.
Since President Kenyatta lifted the curfew, most bus services have resumed duties as usual and bus fares have scaled down.
Last year the country was greatly hit by the COVID-19 shock and most feared to travel. As the country continues to battle the pandemic Kenyans are now well versed with the regulation measures .
Fully booking of buses is set to boost local carries such as Kenya Airways and jambojet whose load factor is expected to go high in December compared to last year same time.
