For the past 10 years, Michael Otieno, a resident of Umoja has traditionally travelled upcountry for Christmas with his family of four.
However, things are different this year as we catch up with him at the Easy Coach booking offices, trying to secure a seat on the Kisumu route.
Otieno has opted to book a return trip for himself, leaving his family behind, attributing this to the tough economic times.
“I cannot afford to travel with the family, it is too costly and remember January is around the corner and children are going back to school. So I am just going to see parents for a few days and return before the New Year rush,” he explained.
*Phyllis, a mother of three says she sent her children to Migori immediately after schools closed, and over the Christmas period, she will just shop and send a parcel home.
The two paint the picture of many families in Nairobi and other major towns who are finding it difficult to balance between meeting the cost of basic needs and what many would now consider a luxury, which is travelling to different parts of the country for Christmas.
For those making trips, many have had to dig deeper into their pockets to afford bus tickets despite a drop in fuel prices, with Nairobi being the major departure point.
A spot check by the Star yesterday noted bus fares have increased by between 50 per cent and 200 per cent across different routes, both on road and air transport, as passenger service vehicles and airlines make a kill.
For instance on the Nairobi-Kisumu route, one of the busiest during the festive season, most buses are charging between Sh1, 850 and Sh3, 000, up from an average Sh1, 500.
Nairobi-Mombasa route bus tickets are averaging Sh2,000 – Sh2, 200 up from Sh1, 600, with some privately owned vans capitalising on the demand to carry passengers.
Even with the high ticket prices, most buses serving the Nairobi-Rift Valley-Western and Nyanza regions are fully booked up to December 28.
“Demand for December is usually high. It is something we always anticipate and prepare for,” a booking staff at Easy Coach told the Star, even as he noted the company has not made any major adjustments to its fares.
During a recent interview with the Star, managing director Azym Dossa indicated the company had chosen not to inflate fares despite high operational costs, as it took into consideration the high cost of living households are battling.
Easy Coach, which serves the Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley regions with a fleet of about 100 buses, is fully booked on major routes.
Gurdian Coach and Ena Coach, which also serve the wider Western-Nyanza region also, said tickets were sold out.
Fares between Nairobi and other major towns such as Naivasha, Nakuru, Nyeri, Nanyuki and Meru have also increased.
Matatu Owners Association (MOA) has pegged the sharp increase to supply and demand, noting there are fewer vehicles available to serve the high traveling numbers.
Last week’s drop in fuel prices by the biggest margin in over two years, of up to Sh5 per litre, was not enough to give travelers relief on transport costs as operators decry other expenses among them insurance, spare parts, and general cost of doing business.
“Fares have always gone up over Christmas but we have spoken to our members not to charge exorbitantly. They need to be considerate,” MOA chairman Albert Karakacha told the Star on the telephone.
Trains (both the Nairobi-Mombasa SGR and the Nairobi-Kisumu Metre Gauge Railway), and airlines have also reported good business, with full bookings from Nairobi.
Airlines are making a killing with increased ticket prices on key routes of Nairobi-Kisumu-Mombasa-Malindi and Diani.
Booking trials on the Star placed a round trip to Kisumu and Mombasa, from Nairobi, at an average Sh19, 200 on budget carriers Jambojet and Skyward.
This is up from around Sh10,900 to Sh13,200 during the low season.
A survey by rating agency -Fitch has since indicated that majority of households plan to spend less than half the amount they dedicated to Christmas festivities this year, compared to a similar period last year.
This is on the back of a drop in disposable income among households, reported to have gone down by at least 20 per cent in the past year due to the high cost of living.
"Companies have downsized in response to the high business operating environment largely due to the high fuel prices, tax regime and weak shilling. This is going to hurt the overall spending behaviour to Covid levels,'' the Kenya 2023 Consumer Outlook reads.
This is expected to dull Christmas festivities with families worried about school fees 42, housing 36 and food 10 per cent while other worries account for 12 per cent.