By Winnie Jerop
A section of the matatu and bodaboda operators in Eldoret town are now fearing losing their jobs in the transport sector.
This is due to the recent rise in fuel prices.
On Wednesday, September 14, 2022, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced new fuel prices that saw an increase by an average of Ksh20 for petrol, diesel and kerosene.
The increase followed President William Ruto’s declaration that his administration will do away with the subsidies that his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta had introduced.
But with the removal of subsidies on fuel, it means Kenyans will pay more to fuel their vehicles and cooking as well as lighting – for those that use kerosene.
“…in line with Government policy to gradually remove subsidy on petroleum fuels, the changes in the maximum allowed petroleum pump prices in Nairobi are as follows: Super Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene increase by KShs 20.18 per litre, KShs 25.00 per litre and KShs 20.00 per litre respectively,” EPRA said in a statement.
With the increase, it means a litre of petrol will retail at Ksh179 for the next month.
The new fuel price has however hit hard on matatu and bodaboda operators in Eldoret, who now want the government to look at ways to address it.
“The government should help us fix the economy. We all know the high cost of living leads to a poor economy. High fuel prices have cost us our lives,” said Phillip Serem, an Eldoline SACCO matatu operator.
“We are still servicing loans for our cars which has been tough lately. We might end up losing our jobs with the current situation,” he added.
Hike fare
The operators argue that it might be an uphill task to convince passengers to accept new fare prices, should they decide to do so.
Samuel Chepkulei, an operator with Lengut Matatu SACCO fears that sooner or later they will have to quit the matatu industry if the prices remain high.
“Kenya’s economy is no longer favourable and this means we might end up quitting our jobs. It is never easy to hike transportation fees abruptly,” Chepkulei told Uasin Gishu News.
But while matatu operators are struggling to find a way of increasing fares without inviting a clash from their customers, their bodaboda counterparts say they have no otherwise but to increase.
One of the operators, Bernard Kiplimo, notes that Eldoret locals must be ready for a fare hike.
“We are not making profits at all and for our customers, we are going to increase transportation fees. To be honest, we never expected this,” he notes.
The operators in the matatu industry now want President William Ruto’s government to work on lowering the fuel prices to as low as ksh120 per litre.
hoping for the best in the near future
hapa ni kama kitaumana