The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced on Tuesday, July 14, that fuel prices would remain unchanged for the next 30 days. Under the review, Super Petrol continues to retail at Ksh214.03 per litre in Nairobi, Diesel at Ksh222.86, and Kerosene at Ksh191.38. EPRA attributed the stability to continued government intervention, including an 8 percent VAT relief extension and a Ksh945 million injection from the Petroleum Development Levy, aimed at shielding consumers from global oil price swings.
Despite the price stability at the pump, long-distance bus operator Ena Coach has kept its passenger fares largely unchanged from the sharp increases instituted during the volatile April-May period, when Super Petrol had surged by nearly Ksh29 per litre due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Under Ena Coach’s latest published schedule, passengers travelling from western Kenya towns such as Port Victoria, Busia, Kisumu, Kisii, Homa Bay and Narok to Nairobi are paying between Ksh1,700 and Ksh1,800. Mombasa-bound routes, including those from Sori, Mbita, Busia and Port Victoria, have all been set at a uniform Ksh3,000. Only the Nairobi-Kisumu route saw a modest Ksh100 reduction compared to June’s schedule, an adjustment that does little to offset the broader cost burden on travellers.
Ena Coach has defended its pricing, citing “careful operational assessments” and the need to “sustain service quality,” even as most commuter and long-distance operators nationwide have similarly kept their fares unchanged despite EPRA’s latest review.
Analysts point to a broader web of pressures beyond fuel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rebounded to around $77 per barrel in early July, driven by OPEC+ production quotas and lingering supply concerns around the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, the Kenya Shilling’s depreciation over the past two years has inflated the cost of imported spare parts, tyres and lubricants, additional expenses that operators fold into ticket prices.
The result is what economists describe as a ratchet effect: transport fares climb quickly when fuel costs spike, but rarely fall back down once prices stabilise or subsidies kick in. Because government cannot dictate private transport pricing, EPRA’s interventions may protect operators’ margins without translating into relief for ordinary commuters.
Until fuel costs fall significantly and imported vehicle parts become cheaper, Kenyan travellers on the Northern Corridor and beyond are likely to keep paying a premium, regardless of how many times EPRA freezes prices at the pump.
