SWILA NOTEBOOK: In Doha, price of petrol cheap as water

Motorists and car owners in Kenya have of late been lamenting over the high fuel prices, with a litre of petrol averaging Sh170, the last time I checked. This is quite high considering that just 20 months ago, the same commodity went for around Sh95.

In Qatar though, fuel price is the least of their worries. It is not a concern and neither does it form national debate. It is cheap and as of Thursday(today), a litre is trading for Riyal 1.8 (about KSh59.4). I’m told this is quite high considering that two months ago it went for as low as Riyal 1.4(about Ksh 46.2).

Because of its cheap nature, the transport business is booming, with lots of souls trying their hand in the taxi business.

Uber driving a full-time job for immigrants in Qatar

Still on matters of transport, a lot of immigrants from the East – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Philippines have embraced uber driving as a fulltime job here, and they are doing just fine. With low fuel prices it is common to find a taxi driver waiting for their clients with the engine running. It is not much of a deal, and because the fuel prices are low, the returns are also good for the drivers. In fact, the base fare for an uber rider is Riyal 9(about KSh300), that makes for a very short distance, a kilometer or two, and these immigrants have embraced the business full throttle.

The other day I learnt that my uber driver is a Bangladeshi who took a bank alone, around Sh2.6 million to purchase a saloon car for uber business. He tells me he’ll service the loan for the next four years and the returns are good – he can service the loan, keep aside some more to feed himself and wire a part of it back home. Newly married, he has a young wife and two-year-old kid back home. He however lamented how the high cost of living here cannot allow him to have his family relocate to the Qatari capital.

Qataris prefer new machines, not jalopies

Overtime, my interest in cars has grown, I don’t know what triggered this, but I’m among the kind of soul who’d cherish a beautiful ride– those with lovely interior, solid on the road with good balance – making the German machines my preference. That however does not mean that Toyotas don’t catch my eye, they do, in fact my tiny, humble ride is a Toyota. But ever since I docked here I have realized that the machines prowling their beautifully designed highways are new machines, three to five-year olds, not the old jalopies we entertain on our roads when basic standards would dictate otherwise. Interestingly, these brand-new autos, some of them are in the Uber business. Equally, I’ve learnt that the autos are cheap here but the challenge lies in exporting one to Kenya – this would peg one some good dollars.