Thousands of passengers have been left stranded at various bus termini across the country as transport operators hike fares to a record high.
The transport operators are blaming the Covid-19 Public Service Vehicles (PSV) guidelines imposed by the Ministry of Health to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
Passengers are however decrying the impact Covid-19 has had on the economy, with most of them having to travel upcountry with families.
Some of the transport operators have more than doubled fares with a trip from Nairobi to Nakuru bound to set you back Ksh 800 from a normal charge of Ksh 300.
Aside from the hiked fares, passengers across the country have also had to deal with long queues at various booking offices as the demand for travel has increased during this festive season.
At the Country Bus Station in Nairobi, a trip to Kisumu costs between Ksh 2,500 and Ksh 3,000 from the normal range of Ksh 1,200 to Ksh 1,500.
Passengers travelling to Machakos are now paying between Ksh 800 and Ksh 1,000 up from Ksh 500.
Matatus to Central Kenya have also increased their fares with shuttles at Tea Room, Nairobi charging a flat rate of Ksh700 to Meru, Mwea and Embu.
Buses from Nairobi to Mombasa have however failed to hike their fares during the festive season which has led to a scarcity of spaces as demand more than doubled during the Christmas period.
Buses from Mombasa to various destinations around the country have however hiked their fares with a trip to Busia, Migori, Kisii and Kakamega costing Ksh 4,600 and Ksh 5,000 up from Ksh 2,000 two weeks ago.
A trip to Nyandarua from the Koja Bus Station, Nairobi is now costing Ksh 800 up from Ksh 250 with fares to Limuru, Ruaka, Banana and Gachie hiking to between Ksh 200 and Ksh 300 up from between Ksh 100 and Ksh 200.
