NAIROBI, Kenya, July 15 – Kenyan motorists and motorbike riders have decried yesterday’s move by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to increase fuel prices by an average of Sh9.
Steven Mutiso, a Bolt driver in Nairobi, said the increment will eat into drivers daily earnings, which are already diminished amid lower earnings per trips.
“These companies won’t increase our earning percentage even with the new fuel prices. This means we, the drivers, are the ones who will lose,” he lamented.
In the monthly fuel review, EPRA increased a liter of super petrol, diesel and kerosene by Sh8.99, by Sh8.67, and by Sh9.65, respectively.
EPRA linked the rise to an increase in the landed cost of the products. Super petrol, for instance, rose by 6.45 percent from $590.24 (Sh76,731) per cubic metre in May to $628.30 (Sh81,760) in June.
Similarly, Collins Kiberenge, a boda boda operator in Nairobi’s CBD, said the hike threatens the already thin margins boda riders operate on.
“These new prices are really going to impact us heavily. Customers won’t add fares just because fuel prices have increased,” he said, adding that many riders are servicing motorcycle loans.
The fuel hike is also expected to trigger a ripple effect on sectors like food delivery and logistics, with the increased cost of transportation likely to be passed on to consumers.
