Taxi-hailing app Little Cab has raised its fare amid escalating fuel costs and pressure from drivers to increase the base rate due to the rising costs of operations.
A report by Business Daily on Thursday, March 18, indicated that Little Cab had raised the fare by Ksh3 per kilometer - from Ksh55 per kilometer to Ksh58 - after the government raised fuel costs across the country.
Little Cab CEO Kamal Budhabhati, in a statement, appealed to customers to accept the increase noting that it was a minor increase.
“I am proposing a small increase of Ksh3 per Kilometre on your Little ride. If I have to translate this to real-time figures with some examples, a ride from Westlands to Nairobi CBD would go up by only Ksh15, Kilimani to Industrial Area would go up by only Ksh30 more.
"Please consider that this small increase which would go a long way to support our drivers to compensate the increase in the fuel price," stated the CEO.
The company also charges an extra Ksh4 per minute of the ride with the minimum cost per trip standing at Ksh270, which will remain unchanged.
Shortly after the increase in fuel was announced on Sunday, March 14, digital taxi drivers pushed digital apps to increase the base rate.
The drivers, through the Digital Transport Forum, Secretary-General, Wycliffe Alutalala, were seeking to have the NTSA TNC Rules 2020 meant to improve operations in the sector passed.
“The drivers and partners community’s doubt whether these rules shall sail through gazettement,” stated Alutalala.
Bolt and Uber are yet to issue a statement regarding the issue even as matatu operators have also indicated that they plan to raise fares.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced that the prices of Super petrol, diesel and kerosene increased by Ksh7.63 per litre, Ksh5.75 per litre and Ksh5.41 per litre respectively.
Petrol costs Ksh122.81 in Nairobi while diesel rose to Ksh107.66.
