Nairobi public transport: tickets, passes and apps

Nairobi has no zonal ticket, no stored-value city card and no day pass that covers matatus, buses and the commuter train together. Each matatu or bus is paid separately, in cash, to the conductor. That is the whole system for most visitors.

So the honest answer to "which ticket?" is: none. Decide by trip instead. For one or two short hops in daylight, take a matatu and pay cash. For anything after dark, for luggage, or for a cross-town run, book Uber or Bolt — the fare is fixed in the app before you get in, which removes the negotiation and the route argument.

If you are in Nairobi for a week or more and will use the same corridor daily, ask at the stage about a sacco smart card; several matatu savings groups issue their own. It is not a citywide product and it will not work on every route, so treat it as a local convenience rather than a travel pass.

Fares are set per route by the sacco that runs it, and they move with fuel prices and time of day. No official fare table is published for matatus and buses, so treat any figure you read — including the bands below — as a planning estimate and confirm at the stage before you board (check).

Matatus and city buses are cash only. Conductors rarely carry change for large notes, so keep small notes. Fares often rise slightly at night and in heavy rain.

Matatus and buses: cash to the conductor, who leans out of the door and takes payment while the vehicle is moving. Say your stop, hand over the note, take your change. There is no ticket machine and no receipt (check).

Ride-hailing: Uber and Bolt both operate in Nairobi and Mombasa. Pay in the app by card or cash; the app price is agreed before pickup. This is the option most visitors should default to. Street taxis exist but you will have to agree a price first, and the parent country guidance is that app rides are safer and cheaper.

Commuter rail: buy at the station before boarding. Contactless bank cards and phone wallets are not accepted on matatus, buses or the train (check).

There is no zone map to learn. Fares are per route, and the route is defined by the stage you board at and the stage you get off at. The CBD has several stages; each one serves a different set of suburbs, so ask which stage goes your way before you commit (check).

The commuter rail is the exception: it runs on fixed lines with stations, and it is the only part of the network with something resembling a published fare structure. It is useful for the CBD and for Syokimau, where the SGR train to Mombasa departs, but it does not cover most of the city (check).

Matatus reach most of the built-up area, including the suburbs where many hotels sit. They do not run to the national park gates or the safari airstrips (check).

Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO) has no rail or metro link to the city (check). The choices are an app ride, a pre-booked transfer, or a taxi from the rank outside arrivals. Allow 45–90 minutes to the centre depending on traffic, and more in the evening peak (check).

Wilson Airport, across the city, is where most safari flights leave for the Mara, Amboseli and Lamu. It is a separate airport, not a terminal at JKIA, so allow a real transfer between them — do not book a tight connection.

For the SGR train to Mombasa, the terminus is at Syokimau, about 20 km from central Nairobi. Book on the Kenya Railways site and arrive an hour early for security. The commuter rail also serves Syokimau, which can save a road transfer if the timings line up (check).