Transporters hike fares as New Year knocks

As the year 2015 draws to a close and Nigerians eagerly wait to usher in Year 2016, the fares charged by commercial vehicle operators on transportation from Lagos to other towns and cities in the federation have increased drastically. Although transportation fare increase is common during this festive period, the ‘astronomical’ rise this time around […]

As the year 2015 draws to a close and Nigerians eagerly wait to usher in Year 2016, the fares charged by commercial vehicle operators on transportation from Lagos to other towns and cities in the federation have increased drastically. Although transportation fare increase is common during this festive period, the ‘astronomical’ rise this time around has been attributed to the current fuel scarcity crisis in the country.

A visit to some of the major motor parks in Lagos by our reporter showed that despite the hike in the transport fares, there was still an influx of travelers to the parks. A passenger at the Oshodi Motor Park who identified himself simply as Sanjo, said he was shocked by the fare charged by the commercial motorists.

Sanjo who was traveling with his family of three children and wife to celebrate the New Year in his home town, Ilorin, added; "From Lagos to Ilorin, we usually paid between N1,800 and N2,000 per passenger. I was shocked and infuriated when I got here and was told the fare is now N4,000 per passenger. With my load and family now, I am going to spend more than double of what I had budgeted. But I have no choice, I just must pay."

Sanjo’s experience was representative of what many other travelers Dear reader, if you have any story for Eko Trust, kindly e-mail us on [email protected] or call 08186166148. Thank you.

who besieged the parks experienced. While some of the passengers expressed disappointment with the arbitrary hike in transport fares by the motorists, others blamed the situation on the government for not making petrol conveniently available for motorists.

Gbolade Salami, a passenger at the Ojota Motor Park who was travelling to Ado-Ekiti, said the commercial vehicle operators were "fond of hiking transport fares during festive periods, whether there is fuel scarcity or not."

He implored the government to put more buses on the road and embark on inter-state mass transportation during festive periods "to alleviate the sufferings of the teeming masses."

A commercial vehicle driver that plies Lagos to Onitsha from the Mile 2 Motor Park, Johnbull Okechukwu, however, maintained that the hike in transport fares at this period was necessitated by the inability of the transporters to get petrol to fuel their vehicles at the normal rate.

"The petrol stations are not selling fuel. We buy from the black market at exorbitant rates, just because we want to work and help passengers get to their destinations at this period. So, we have to put something on top what we charge so that we don’t operate at a loss," Okechukwu said.

Some of the passengers at the Mile 2 Motor Park, however, called on the concerned authorities to help check arbitrary hike in transport fares during major festivals, adding that the period should not be used to inflict hardship on the masses.