Counties

Buses now fully booked ahead of Dec festivities

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Easy Coach Bus Terminus located along Haile Selassie Avenue. PHOTO | FRANCIS NDERITU | NMG

Buses heading to Western Kenya are fully booked ahead of Christmas as Nairobians prepare to travel to their rural homes to celebrate with their loved ones.

A spot check showed that Ena Coach buses to Busia, Siaya and Bondo from Nairobi are fully booked up to December 24 as passengers prepare to travel to their villages to celebrate Christmas.

Guardian Bus Service from Nairobi on routes such as Mumias, Kakamega and Busia is also booked to capacity up to December 24.

There are a few seats left on Easy Coach that are set to be snapped up in coming days on routes such as Homabay, Kisumu and Rongo from the city from November 10 to December 25.

Full booking of buses is set to boost local carriers such as Kenya Airways, Jambojet and Safarilink whose load factor is expected to go high in December compared to the same time last year.

Airlines have also increased fares from Nairobi to Mombasa ahead of Christmas on early bookings and the ticket prices are expected to rise further in coming days.

A Nairobi-Mombasa flight on Jambojet on December 23 would go as high as Sh13,000 with the Christmas Eve attracting the highest fares of Sh17, 000 for a one-way ticket.

A person going to Mombasa today will pay Sh9,000 on a one-way air ticket for the 6.35am flight.

“We are seeing a trend where passengers have resorted to early booking to avoid last minute rush. This is a positive development,” said a representative from Ena Coach who did not want to be quoted.

Guardian Bus Service is charging Sh1,200 to ferry passengers to Busia, Kisumu, Kakamega and Mumias from Nairobi down from Sh1,650 it was charging before the state lifted restriction in movement in and outside the counties.

Ena Coach charges a flat fare of Sh1,200 on routes such as Kisii, Kisumu, Homabay and Rongo from Nairobi, up from Sh1,000 early this year.