Middlemen are putting a muck on the recently launched mega modern Standard gauge railway linking Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, and its coastal city of Mombasa, reports the Business Daily.
Kenya Railways is however working towards rectifying this situation by implementing mobile payments in June. Mobile payment has hit a hitch as it requires passengers to book two days before traveling and physically picking the tickets from the terminus.
“To address the concern, we are working to introduce other modes of payment as a top priority; this includes online ticketing. Mobile applications will also be considered as a component of the online module to address the situation,” said Kenya Railways yesterday in the local newspaper.
The government travel company hopes that online ticketing system will enable passengers can book seats, buy and print out tickets, pay fares and receive e-invoices without having to visit a railway station.
“We are also in the process of revising the ticket format, and we will soon be rolling out a new version of the tickets incorporating passenger’s details, thus addressing the issue of unscrupulous purchase and resale of the tickets at a premium,” said Kenya Railways.
Kenya Railways has also asked customers to not buy tickets from middlemen in order to curb the illegal business. The middlemen will buy the tickets at the affordable prices, like the economy class ticket at 7USD and sell it at 12USD.
