Standing in front of a Nairobi bus terminal is chaotic. There are dozens of people scrambling to purchase tickets before the next ride leaves the station. Now, however, Kenyans have the opportunity to purchase their tickets online in an effort by the government to reduce the stress and confusion. “Really, what an amazing idea and I really hope we get people using this new service because look around, it's crazy,” said one passenger as he waited for the next bus to arrive. The online bus ticketing system called eManamba, is the mastermind of logistics company Sakura Sanmic Investments Company that hopes to give passengers schedule enquiries, reserve seats and purchase tickets via their mobile payments provider. After authentication of the payment, the online ticket system automatically generates a ticket and sends it to the customer's email address to be printed out before travel, the company said. “We are not tied to one mobile phone subscriber. We allow everyone to access it [eManamba] from wherever they are. In our payment gateway we have M-Pesa, Zap, and Eazzy 24/7 and we are in the process of adopting Yu cash,” said Sakura Sanmic Marketing Manager Moses Okello. The move is being praised by average citizens and analysts alike, with most saying it could help reduce congestion at terminals and create an easy-to-use system that gives Kenyans the opportunity to cut down on travel time and waiting. “What we are seeing is the continuation of the Kenyan IT surge and it is going to revolutionize how African telecom is done,” said John Reese, a British-based telecom expert currently visiting Kenya as a consultant for the government. BM
