Little takes on matatus with bus service plan

What you need to know:

Little has rolled out 12 shuttle buses for the route with an eye on major upcountry destinations in the future.
The new upcountry service by Little will aim to disrupt public transit by attempting to get customers to their destinations with fewer stops while striving to maintain higher quality and safety standards.
The firm currently operates a mass transport shuttle service along several routes in Nairobi that was launched this year.

Safaricom #ticker:SCOM backed ride-hailing firm Little has launched a bus transportation service on the Nairobi, Naivasha and Nakuru route, taking the battle for passengers to public bus operators.

Chief executive Kamal Budhabhatti told the Business Daily on Friday that the firm has rolled out 12 shuttle buses for the route with an eye on major upcountry destinations in the future.

The firm will charge a flat fare of Sh450 on the Nairobi-Naivasha-Nakuru route for the daily trips, it said. Matatus charge between Sh250 and Sh300 from Nairobi to Naivasha and between Sh300 and Sh500 from Nairobi and Nakuru depending on availability of vehicles and passenger demand.

“We have 12 slots on the Nairobi-Nakuru route,” Mr Budhabhatti said in interview.

“We will put (buses) in all major routes in the near future,” he added without naming the planned additional destinations.

The new upcountry service by Little will aim to disrupt public transit by attempting to get customers to their destinations with fewer stops while striving to maintain higher quality and safety standards. The firm currently operates a mass transport shuttle service along several routes in Nairobi that was launched this year.

Swvl, a Cairo-based bus transportation service, also deployed bus shuttles within Nairobi.

The Swvl buses have been plying various routes in the city providing passengers with a pre-booked service.

Matatus are privately owned and operated by touts and drivers and have sometimes been on the spot for being unruly.

They have also faced criticism of applying aggressive measures like doubling prices when it rains and driving fast to complete more trips to make higher profits.

Digital taxi drivers working with cab-hailing companies including Little recently held boycotts to push for a review of their cut.

Little on Thursday announced an increase in its fares in an effort to appease the drivers. The new prices will see Little charge Sh35 per kilometre, up from Sh30 both Nairobi and Mombasa.