Feature: Kenyan motorists relish low petrol, diesel prices

Since the year began, Nairobi resident Boniface Korir has driven to work only thrice to avoid incurring more expenses.

"Most of the days, I have been boarding matatus (mini buses) to cut my expenses after heavy spending over the Christmas and New Year holidays, and paying my three children's school fees," he said on Wednesday.

For the three occasions he has driven to work, Korir, a banker, was forced to do so because of early morning meetings.

"January is usually a bad month for many people and I am not an exception. If you look on our roads, the number of personal vehicles has reduced as motorists try to save. People are eagerly waiting for end month,"said Korir.

However, Korir would not need to wait long to drive to work every day after he is paid his January salary.

The banker got a reprieve on Wednesday when the government cut fuel pump costs by up to 0.10 U.S. dollars per litre, following drop in global crude oil prices.

Korir is among hundreds of motorists in the East African nation who are in a celebratory mood following the move to reduce fuel prices.

Many of the motorists had parked their cars at home and turned to public transport vehicles to beat January blues. Others were using them interchangeably with matatus to cut costs.

"This is the best gift I have received from the government since the year began. It is an indication of better things to come in the following months. Although we would have wanted prices to go down further, we are happy," said Nairobi matatu operator Manuel Mogaka.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in its monthly review reduced fuel prices by an average of 8 percent as the government passed the gains of the impact of falling global crude oil prices to consumers.

In the capital Nairobi, the cost of super petrol was set at 1. 02 dollars per litre, a drop of 0.10 dollars while diesel and kerosene would cost 0.91 dollars and 0.72 dollars per litre, a decline of 0.08 dollars and 0.06 dollars respectively.

On the other hand, consumers in the coastal city of Mombasa will buy super petrol at 0.98 dollars per litre, diesel at 0.88 dollars and kerosene at 0.69 dollars, the lowest prices in the East African nation due to the town's proximity to the East African nation's refinery.

"These are the lowest fuel prices in four years," said ERC director-general Joseph Ng'ang'a, whose body has been capping fuel prices since 2010 to protect consumers from exploitation.

ERC expects pump prices to go down further in the next review slated on Feb. 14. The review, according to Ng'ang'a, will consider the global crude prices for December 2014.

"We expect the benefits to continue in the coming review and we will pass them to consumers," he said.

A barrel of crude oil in the international market was quoted Wednesday at 45 dollars as prices continued to drop. However, with the drop in fuel prices in Kenya, the lowest in East Africa region, some motorists feared that the number of vehicles on the road, particularly in Nairobi, may increase sharply, leading to more traffic jams. Endi