Travelling to Mombasa by bus; why I am never using Coast Air Buses ever again
Posted by Social Matters , Wednesday, August 5, 2015 5:11 AM
When I travelled to Mombasa last week, I did so by bus, I had booked Coast Air. I have never travelled by bus to Mombasa, hold up, I have not travelled to Mombasa by air as well, just by a fourteen seater by driver who I think drinks every night, when he was overtaking my heart always started to race. Well, I was scared because of Al shabaab (unfounded, I know), then the numerous trucks and trailers on the road which would become my main fear by the way. Well, I knew from my younger brother that there was no waiting room at Coast air, yet I had paid Kshs. 1600 for comfort, ultimate comfort, but I was really disappointed, at the very last minute I was informed the vehicle had broken down, so I was downgraded to something I did not want (if I wanted it I would have booked earlier). Here I was looking at all the buses lining up, waiting for the ultimate bus I had booked, it was supposed to have WIFI, charging ports, washroom facilities, snacks and some privacy, God knows I love privacy, I got downgraded at the very last minute. I was waiting for some grand bus, but I was super disappointed.
So, here I was travelling by bus, not that it was bad, but this bus company conduct no security checks at all. Maybe this is because I am used to Easy Coach and the fact that they check luggage and people boarding the bus, but there were no checks at all. Everyone simply got in without being checked, me included. I guess that made my fears worse. What really made me annoyed is that they conducted the checks on the bus behind us.
The journey was not half as bad, I managed some peace until I asked the man next to me where we were and then he went on talking for hours, it included how he loved his wife and even if he was to cheat on her, he would always go back to her. All I heard was, I have cheated on my wife before but she is the foolish one who will never leave me, despite me exposing her to HIV and all… ahhhhhhhh love in the 21st Century is a strange thing. It ended with him asking me if I wanted to have drinks with him later in the evening if I was in Mombasa. So in other words he was asking me to the other woman strictly, all the terms and conditions had been laid out before.
Then after the journey, I had to listen to my friends, describe all the other luxury buses that were available and how amazing they were and all I could think of ‘why didn’t I know about them.’
Anyway the only reason I will not be using Coast Air again, is that they did not keep their end of the bargain, if you are going to change buses make sure it close to what I wanted as a customer, secondly, conduct security checks, such a simple check can really save lives in the long run. I think they knew the bus was not available the whole day but they waited until the last minute because then I would have no choice but to travel with them. Thirdly, invest in a waiting room, the reason I like Easy Coach is they have a spacious waiting room, when you arrive at 3am you can always sleep the early hours away and go home when you feel safe.
I think next time; I would rather explore other options, now I know that I have other better choices in short I am NEVER using Coast Air again.
