Intercity bus fares rise by 53% ahead festive season

Ahead of the festive season, Nigerians’ spending on intercity trips rose to N5,885.68 in October 2023, indicating a 53.04 percent growth from N3,845.81 in October 2022.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Transport Fare Watch report for October 2023, Abuja recorded the highest intercity bus fare of N8,000 while Adamawa, Gombe, Anambra and Delta recorded N7600, N7550, N7500 and N7350 respectively.

The regions which paid the most are southeast, northeast, southwest, northwest and south-south which recorded N6270.00, N6123.33, N6091.67, N5,810.00 and N5,741.67.

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The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys intercity dropped 0.53 percent to N5,885.68 in October 2023 from N5,917.16 in September 2023.

Nigerians’ spending on average fare for bus journeys within the city has increased by 75.45 percent to N1,117.30 in October 2023 from N636.83 in the same period of 2022.

President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration speech on May 29 announced the removal of subsidy on petrol, a development that has seen the number of cars reduce drastically on the roads in major commercial cities, as Nigerians grapple with the inflationary effects of the removal.

The Lagos State government moved to ensure the implementation of the reduction of transport fares by state-owned buses and commercial buses by 50 percent and 25 percent respectively earlier announced by the government.

This followed the series of complaints received by the ministry of transportation that some public transport operators did not comply with the pronouncement made by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to mitigate the impact of subsidy removal on commuters.

The state government subsequently cancelled the 50 percent transport fare discount on all public transport system which was implemented in response to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s directive on August 2, 2023.

This was in a public notice in which the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) announced a reversion to the old rates of public transport from November 5.

“The 50 percent rebate in transport fare in the regulated transport system in Lagos ends on Sunday,” LAMATA said in a note.

The statement informed commuters that starting from Monday, November 6, 2023, transport fares will return to the pre-2nd August 2023 rate.

Lagos residents were advised to take note of the change and make the necessary preparations for the resumption of regular transport fare rates that were in place before the adjustment made in August.

The average fare for bus journeys within the city per drop dropped 16.48 percent to N1,117.30 in October 2023 from N1,337.80 in September 2023.

The average fare for Okada (motorbike) transportation was N507.30 in October 2023, a 10.75 percent increase year-on-year compared to N458.05 in October 2022.

On a month-on-month basis, the average fare paid for Okada transportation declined by 21.51 percent to N507.30 in October 2023 from N646.29 in September 2023.

The average fare paid for air travel increased by 7.62 percent to N78,778.38 in October 2023 from N73,198.65 in October 2022.

On a month-on-month basis, the average fare paid for air travel stood at N78,778.38 in October 2023, indicating a 0.30 percent decrease from N79,013.48 in September 2023.

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Water transport, specifically waterway passenger transportation, average fare paid increased by 38.70 percent to N1,395.68 in October 2023 from N1,006.22 in October 2022.

On a month-on-month basis, the average fare paid for water transportation dipped 0.79 percent to N1,395.68 in October 2023 from N1,006.22 in October 2022.

In the analysis by geopolitical zone for October 2023, the transport fares for bus journeys within the city were highest in the south-south at N1,216.67, followed by the northwest at N1,155.00, while the southwest recorded the lowest at N1,026.67.

The southeast had the highest fare at N6,270.00 in terms of bus journeys intercity, followed by the northeast at N6,123.33, while the north-central recorded the lowest at N5,430.00.