- Southeast have increased to as high as N50,000 per seat due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the surge in fuel prices.
- Many Nigerians who planned to travel to their hometowns for Christmas may have to cancel their plans or spend a fortune on transport costs.
- Transport operators say they are forced to increase their fares to cover their operational costs and make some profit, and they appeal to the government to intervene and reduce the cost of fuel and other essential commodities.
Many Nigerians who are looking forward to celebrating Christmas with their families and friends in different parts of the country may have to cancel their plans due to the exorbitant cost of road transportation.
According to Legit.ng, the average fare for intercity bus trips increased by 53.04% from N3,845.81 in October 2022 to N5,885.68 in October 2023, as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics October 2023 Transport Fare Watch.
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| Photo Credit: Premium Times, Samuel Okocha Source: legit.ng |
This increase is largely attributed to the removal of fuel subsidies by the current administration, which has led to a surge in fuel prices across the country.
Report also found out that some transport companies are charging as high as N50,000 for a bus ticket from Lagos to Abuja or the Southeast during the festive season.
For instance, GUO Transport Company's website shows that a Sienna bus from Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, to Owerri, Imo State, would cost passengers N50,500 per seat during Christmas. A Hiace bus on the same route is slightly cheaper at N42,000.
Similarly, a bus ticket from Lagos to Abuja or vice versa would cost N49,000 or N50,000 respectively, according to GUO's Christmas ticket rate.
This means that passengers may be paying as much as a 45% increase in transport costs to different states in a few days.
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Some Nigerians who spoke to Legit.ng expressed their frustration and disappointment over the situation, saying that they may have to forfeit their travel plans this year.
Chijioke Osondu, a Lagos-based businessman, said that he had planned to travel to the East with his family of five, but he could not afford to spend N400,000 on transport alone.
He said:
“It is not surprising that a bus ticket to the East or Abuja from Lagos will be over N40,000 this Christmas. The government has made life difficult for us by removing fuel subsidies and increasing fuel prices. How can we cope with this kind of situation?”
Peter Austin, a civil servant, said that he had not seen his parents and siblings in Anambra State for over two years, and he was hoping to visit them this Christmas. However, he said that he might have to change his mind due to the high cost of transportation.
He said:
“With transport fare this high, it means I will need to budget at least N100,000 to travel to the East just for transport fare. Don’t forget that I still have to buy food, clothes, gifts and other things for myself and my family. With the hike in everything this year, I don’t think I can afford it. I may have to stay in Lagos and hope for a better next year.”
Some transport operators who spoke to BusinessDay said that they had no choice but to increase their fares to cover their operational costs and make some profit.
They said that the cost of fuel, maintenance, spare parts, taxes and levies had gone up significantly in the past year, and they had to pass on the burden to their customers.
They also said that the demand for interstate travel usually increases during the festive season, and they had to take advantage of the situation to make more money.
They appealed to the government to intervene and reduce the cost of fuel and other essential commodities to ease the suffering of Nigerians.
Source: Pulsehubs
Label: BusinessNews