NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – Operators of public service vehicles (PSVs) have threatened to raise fares due to the high cost of fuel, resulting in lower earnings.
They say that they will be forced to pass on extra costs to Kenyans to avoid incurring heavy losses.
Fuel is an important input cost in the PSV sector whose ultimate price affects the final charges paid by travelers.
A rise in the commodity means that operators have no other choice but to pass it on to households.
One of the leading bus operators in the country, who sought anonymity, said that the management is deciding whether to raise the prices.
It comes at a time when most Kenyans are grappling with the high cost of food.
On Monday, EPRA increased prices for super, diesel, and kerosene in Nairobi by Sh3.40, Sh6.40, and Sh15.19, respectively.
This means that motorists in the city will have to fork out Sh182.7 for petrol, Sh168.4 for diesel, and Sh161.13 for kerosene.
Rising costs will also have a ripple effect on other factors of production that depend on fuel to run.
Only yesterday, a two-kilogram packet of sugar shot up by Sh55 to Sh420.
It came barely three months after Kenya received two ships loaded with sugar at the Port of Mombasa to cool down the high prices of the product.
Data from the Sugar Directorate indicates that the volumes imported between January and March were 93,000 metric tons, compared to 46,000 in a similar period last year.
