We can’t afford it, Nairobians tell Kenya Railways on DMU fares

Kenyans have hit out at Kenya Railways (KR) over the Sh100 fixed charge that commuters will be charged in the newly launched park and ride passenger rail service of the Diesel Multiple Units (DMU) locomotives.

KR while releasing the schedule for the Nairobi Commuter Trains said commuters will operate on a fixed schedule across the city and will charge passengers Sh100 flat rate to each destination.

Kenyans were irked by the decision and expressed their dissatisfaction with the fare especially during off pick hours when Passenger Service Vehicles (PSV) reduce their fares.

The DMUs which will traverse through five estates across Nairobi and its environs, will be operating from Nairobi Central Station to the designated stops which were recently upgraded and completed last month.

Read: It’s Sh100 per ride in new Kenya Railways DMUs

The new development is expected to attract a substantial proportion of the 1.5 million people who commute into Nairobi CBD every day and make commuting easier.

Majority of Kenyans whom had been accustomed to paying Sh40 for short distances urged KR to relook at the new fares terming them as unrealistic and exploitative.

We’ll just seat here n wait for it to collapse, because it then solves nothing. Na hio 100 whom are we sending it to?

— Celvin.I (@AM_tegs) November 16, 2020

100 is a lot

— Gitau (@_ItsGitau) November 16, 2020

….time to wait for the trains according to schedule. The fastness to reach to town and vice versa shouldn’t be your only sales pitch. Factor these 3 things:- energy, resources, time. So far you only beat matatus on time

— joblo (@jobwekesa) November 16, 2020

Where you go wrong is the pricing.

It’s still cheaper to use a matatu.

Consider that a lot of people still need to use a matatu to get to the train station.

The cost should be 40 as it was with the old train. Incentivise people to use the train .

— Pebbles (@Waru_Mopebbles) November 16, 2020

You will have to drastically adjust fares…..ka c hvo we go the ma3 way….na c tafadhali

— Kyalloh Nicodemus ,OGW – (@nkyalo36) November 16, 2020

You should lower your prices to compete with Matatus. Though you’re convenient in terms of time, Nairobians have the HABIT of finding matatus outside their “doorstep” anytime (So matatus charge a premium for this). Devise prices that will make Nairobians sacrifice their time…..

— joblo (@jobwekesa) November 16, 2020