The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) has revealed a significant increase in the passenger transport cost across the country in August, pointing to a worrying trend for commuters.
According to the KNBS in its Consumer Price Indices and Inflation Rates report published on August 29, bus and matatu fares for the Mombasa to Nairobi route recorded the sharpest increase by 15.4 per cent.
A similar situation was witnessed among commuters using three-wheelers, commonly known as Tuk Tuk, with the report highlighting a rise in their fare by 1.5 per cent.
This, despite the Energy and Petroleum Regulator Authority (EPRA) announcing a drop in the prices of petrol by 0.5 per cent, while retaining the prices of diesel unchanged during the month.
In its report, the Bureau also disclosed a marginal rise in the cost of vehicle insurance for August, with insurance costs rising slightly by 0.2 per cent.
A similar pattern was witnessed with television subscription fees for private services, such as DSTV, which, according to KNBS, rose by 1.5 per cent.
During the same period, KNBS announced that the prices in the restaurants and accommodation services division registered slight increases across all categories.
"Prepared food from cafés and takeaways prices rose by 0.3 per cent, beverages in hotels and restaurants prices increased by 0.3 per cent, and lodging and guest prices recorded a smaller rise of 0.2 per cent," KNBS announced.
Additionally, the prices of the personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services rose by 0.2 per cent. Specifically, the prices of body lotion, toilet soap and tissue paper rose by 0.2 per cent, 0.4 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively.
The Buerau also announced a price increase for vegetables, with cabbage prices registering the highest rise at 6.3 per cent, followed by prices of carrots (2.4 per cent), prices of sukuma wiki (1.9 per cent), and prices of tomatoes (1.2 per cent).
Goods & Services Which Recorded Price Decrease
According to the KNBS report, in August, price drops were observed for food items such as fresh unpacketed cow milk (-0.9 per cent ), fortified maize flour (-1.7 per cent), sifted maize flour (-1.5 per cent), beans (-0.7 per cent), loose maize grain (- 0.4 per cent), and oranges (-0.7 per cent).
The agency also revealed significant price drops in electricity charges, with 50kWh band prices dropping by 2.3 per cent and 200kWh band prices declining by 2.1 per cent.
Likewise, in August 2025, the furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance index recorded a slight overall decrease of 0.2 per cent.
Fuel Tanker Explodes on Major Highway News Just In
