Kenya Bus company: Free insurance included

By Prof. Dr. Wolfgang H. Thome

Easycoach one of Kenya’s and East Africa’s leading bus companies has signed a deal with Jubilee Insurance to provide medical cover for their passengers for the duration of the journey on domestic and regional bus routes.

The added value comes at no extra cost to passengers as the fare charged – unchanged for that matter even after the introduction of the service – will cover the insurance at the expense of the bus operator.

Inpatient and outpatient bills up to Kenya Shillings 25.000 will be taken care of by Jubilee Insurance in case of an injury sustained by a passenger in the event of an accident. The Kenya Red Cross is part of the deal too as Jubilee Insurance has also partnered with them to arrange for evacuation and delivery of injured people to hospitals accredited to the scheme.

It is understood that other bus companies are also keen to join the deal, after they realized that scores of passengers had of late shifted to low cost airlines flying at charges, at least for tickets booked long in advance, which ended up cheaper than a bus ticket. It order to stem the exodus Easy Coach were the first to add value for their passengers, and while night operations are apparently still banned in Kenya, inspite of a High Court ruling that it was illegal, bus companies now have to make do with 12 hours of operations for their fleets, severely curtailing their departures across Kenya and to neighbouring countries like Uganda.

This latest development is largely seen among Kenyan travelers as a countermeasure and to bring the focus back on bus travel, combined with the positive publicity the deal generated after the local media were all hyped up over the launch of another low cost airline, which however only gives the advertised lowest possible fare if a seat is booked and paid for weeks in advance but charges a great multiple for passengers wishing to travel on the day. Busses versus aircraft, speed of travel versus time spent on the road, insurance cover versus extra charges for a particular seat and checked in baggage – let the battle commence.

Source eTurboNews