Egyptian bus-hailing app Swvl on Tuesday announced it was resuming commuter services in Nairobi County and will scale up operations across the country as earlier planned. 

Swvl says it will launch in the city its recent innovations including Swvl Carpool and Swvl Travel as it seeks to dominate the mass transit space post the Covid-era.

Swvl Kenya General Manager Dip Patel said on Tuesday that it studied the commuter needs and patterns in Kenya during the suspension of its services due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We identified the areas of change and have used the information to advise our new innovations and the decision to fully restart our regular rides service across the city,” Patel said.

Swvl had cut down the routes its regular buses cover immediately the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Kenya in March last year after its launch across Nairobi in February 2019.

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Back in 2019, Swvl was forced to suspend operations in Nairobi after the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) switched it off for allegedly operating with the wrong license.

NTSA had directed the bus-hailing firm to halt its operations immediately or face impounding of its buses for operating under the Tour Service License instead of the commuter service license.

The suspension of its service was lifted in May 2019 after it complied with NTSA demands.

In early 2020, Swvl introduced the Swvl Travel Service that saw its buses operate round trips to Nakuru, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kisumu, Kisii and Mombasa.