“Ksh120 for a train ticket is too much”, said a friend of mine. He was commenting about the recent opening of the new railway station at Syokimau in Embakasi, a large residential and commercial area of Nairobi. I was rather indifferent, compared with some countries, that is actually a bit on the cheap side.
If we want to develop as a country and get better standards of living, we must be prepared to pay for it. Figureheads at the train company Rift Valley Railways thought with precision when implementing that ksh120 as a ticket price. Just because it’s a government parastatal or ministry, does not mean it should offer reduced and or subsidized prices for everyone. A lot of complaints were received concerning people who live on less than Ksh100 a day, what of them? They’ll just go to their respective places of work and residence just as they always have. It may come as a shock to some of you, but some of them can’t even afford matatu fares. They walk to their places of interest as they always have. And, when they climb the social ladder, they will be able to afford and enjoy the new, short railway commute.
Some roads are going to have a toll fee for driving on them. Tolling is a system that’s popular in countries such as the United States of America and Europe. It’s a mechanism that helps maintain the road, and raise funds for others. You ask yourself, “what of the fuel levy fee that’s currently in place, isn’t that used on road maintenance?” When it was introduced, many people complained about the high price, lack of results and unfairness. As the years went by, it became a norm. It’s done some fair amount of work with regard to construction of roads. The tolling system will complement it. We actually have a tolling station, but it’s not really in use, it’s at the truck stop in between Naivasha and Gil gil along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. That is what tolling stations will look like. If you are used to paying the parking fees at a mall, or in the CBD, what is the problem in paying for using a road?
The airport has lots of construction going on, the new buildings are almost complete, the parking’s been increased, and recently, it was announced that the much needed construction of a new, separate terminal called greenfields, will be launched for construction soon. Do you really think that parking fees and airport taxes will remain the same after they’re done expanding? Of course not, much like any other business that develops and launches new products and services into the market, costs must be recovered, break-even points must be hit before profits start rolling in. The long term costs of overheads and maintenance must also be factored in.
The various ministries that run these services should be considered like any other business; to offer services and make profits at the end of the day. They can’t always go to the “broke” government for funding, they have to be able to generate income through their own activities. We are the envy of east and central Africa with our economy and booming infrastructure. If we want to continue that lead, and improve the way we live ultimately, we must be ready to pay the price.