An increase in fares on Madaraka Express (SGR) that took effect in January could be taking a toll on passengers, at least going by the 2024 first quarter performance which saw an 11% decline in Q1/24 compared to Q1/23.

• Though considered fastest means of transport from Nairobi to Mombasa, passengers have to incur extra cost in finding their way to both Nairobi and Mombasa central business districts.
• In November, Kenya Railways increased fares by Ksh 500-Ksh 1500 necessitated by adjustment in fuel prices, which breached the KShs. 200 mark.
• The latest Quarterly Gross Domestic Product Report by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows passenger traffic decline of 11 per cent from 597.5 thousand in the first quarter of 2023 to 531.7 thousand in the first quarter of 2024.

Similarly, the freight haulage via SGR declined by 17.4 per cent from 1,577.9 thousand metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2023 to 1,303.3 thousand metric tonnes in the period under review. Revenue generated from freight stream rose marginally from KSh 3,140.0 million in the first quarter of 2023 to KSh 3,244.7 million in the first three months of this year.

Meanwhile, according to the KNBS data, transportation and Storage sector’s real GDP is estimated to have registered a decelerated growth of 3.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to a 6.6 per cent growth recorded in the same quarter of 2023. Mombasa Port throughput rose by 7.3 per cent from 8,792 thousand metric tonnes in the first quarter of 2023 to 9,430 thousand metric tonnes in the period under review.

Import of light diesel decreased by 4.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023 to stand at 494.5 million litres. The number of international passenger arrivals and departures handled rose by 14.7 per cent from 1,513.8 thousand passengers in the first quarter of 2023 to 1,736.1 thousand in the first quarter of 2024.

The Quarterly Gross Domestic Product Report also shows that Kenya’s accommodation and food service sector recorded a double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2024, even though this growth was slower compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023. The sector grew by 28.0 per cent per cent compared to a growth of 47.1 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2023.

The growth was evidenced by a significant increase in the number of visitor arrivals. Visitor arrivals through the two major airports, the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Mombasa International Airport (MIA) rose by 10.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 to stand at 409,164 visitors compared to 370,570 visitors in the corresponding quarter of 2023.