Swvl, an Egyptian bus booking platform has resumed its regular commuter services in Nairobi as well as added Swvl Carpool and Swvl Travel to meet the needs of the everyday commuter which have evolved as Kenya transitions into the ‘new normal’.
“During the pandemic period, we took our time to analyse the patterns and needs of commuters. We identified the areas of change and have used the information to advise our new innovations and the decision to fully restart our regular rides service across the city. Our aim is to ensure that we provide a service for every kind of commuter in the country”, said Dip Patel, the General Manager for Swvl in Kenya.
Swvl had reduced the number of routes covered by its regular rides service at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, owing to the low number of regular commuters within the capital city at the time. The service had become popular with commuters since it launched in February 2019. The company’s regular commuter services will now be available for across Nairobi.
The new innovations that launched late last year have been operational and continue to ferry passengers. The Swvl Travel service operates round trips to and from six towns in Kenya, namely Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kisumu, Kisii and Mombasa. It has become popular with travellers to any of the six destinations available. Swvl carpool allows commuters to split the fare of a car with their fellow rider. All services will continue to operate on fixed routes, fixed prices and timings using Swvl’s existing app.
“We will continue to collaborate with existing players in the industry to come together and create an efficient system supported by our technology. Anyone with the necessary documentation is free to approach us and once taken through the verification and onboarding process can operate via our platform”, said Dip Patel.
All the services will operate as per the guidelines from the Ministry of Health, observing the capacity restrictions in place, and all suppliers on the platform must have the required documents and licenses. The services are all available via the Swvl app