By Mercy Kahenda

Public transport operators are taking advantage of the season to overcharge passengers

Nakuru town was busy with students rushing up and down the streets in last-minute preparations for reopening of schools for second term.

Parents and students traveling to different destinations were stranded at bus stops and complained of hiked bus fare.

Matatus heading to Eldoret were charging Sh500 from the normal price of Sh300, those heading to Nairobi Sh450 while Kakamega was Sh800 with most operators saying there were more passengers.

Geoffrey Muyesu, a parent whose child goes to school at Kapsabet Boys Secondary School, said that high fares and poor roads had made students report to their respective institutions late.

“My boy was to arrive at school at around noon, but due to time wasted waiting for vehicles and the poor road that leads to Kapsabet are going to delay him,” said the parent.

LONG QUEUES

Banks and bookshops on the other hand had long queues of students buying textbooks, school uniforms and shoes. Despite the hustle of reporting back to school, business operators dealing with school products and services took advantage of the situation to gain profit.

James Mwangi, a business operator who prints names on schools uniforms and textbooks, said he enjoys school opening periods since business is at its peak. “I am able to smile since the profit I make during school opening period is encouraging and it boosts my earnings,” he said.

Mwangi charges Sh50 to print a name on a pair of uniform using paint depending on the colour of the uniform. He also writes names on gumboots at Sh100. Disgruntled commuters in the North Rift region yesterday protested over hiked fares and shortage of public service vehicles as schools re-open.

INADEQUATE SERVICES

Hundreds of commuters were stranded in various towns in the North Rift as public service vehicles took advantage of inadequate services to exploit them.  Motorists operating from Eldoret to Nairobi have raised fares by over 160 per cent, from Sh 600 to Sh1,000 during the peak period.

The increase in transport charges has forced commuters , especially pupils and students returning to school this week,  to postpone their trips in anticipation of a return to normalcy. Mr Kipkeu Chepkong’a, a commuter, said there was need to regulate the sector to cushion commuters from over exploitation.

-Reports by Mercy Kahenda, Kipchumba Kemei and Edwin Cheserek