The exponential rise in public transportation fares after subsidy removal
Following the removal of fuel by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu immediately after his inauguration on May 29, 2023, there has been an exponential increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) across the nation which has also caused transportation fares to double.
The resultant effect of the president’s declaration increased PMS that sold for N165, N200 thereabout to about N500, N700 and N1000.
Research gathered that commuters, involving students, traders, drivers and Bankers, lamented that the new reality may cause a lot of havoc like increasing the unemployment rate in Nigeria, destroying businesses, and frustration among other things.
At the state level, Taraba recorded the highest bus travel within a city with N870, followed by Jigawa State with N800.
A memo obtained by this newspaper from the Borno Express Corporation showed how travellers paying N7,000 from Borno to Abuja now pay N10,500, and those going to Kaduna and Yola pay N9,000 against the old rate of N6,000.
Others are, Jos, Kano, and Gombe now pay N6,000, the old rate was N4,000; Katsina is now N7,000, the old rate was N6,000; Bauchi used to be N3,500 is now N5,000, while Mubi was N,5000 has been increased to N7,000.
However, Biu, Geidam, and Gashua travellers now pay N3,500 as against N2,500; Nguru travellers Pay N4,000 as against the old rate of N3,000.
The reviewed transport fares memo from Gombe Transport Services (Gombe Line) equally shows an exponential increase in the prices of bus fares.
From Gombe to Abuja and Kaduna is N8,000; Gombe to Lafiya and Katsina is N7,000; to Illorin is N18,000; Lagos, N23,000; Minna, N11,000; Sokoto N13,000 and Zamfara, N10,000.
As of 1st June 2023, Bauchi to Abuja, Borno, Yola, Kaduna and Katsina is N6,000 as against the old rate of N4,500.
Bauchi to Azare and Gombe used to be N1,500 and are now N2,500; to Taraba, N6,500, the old rate was N5,000; Bauchi to Misau was N1,000 has increased to N1,800; Bauchi to Darazo was N800, now goes for N1,500.
Bauchi to Kano, N3,500, old rate was N2,300; Zamfara, 6,500, old rate was N4,500; Sokoto, N7,500, old rate was N5,500.
While Bauchi to Minna which used to be N5,000 now charged at N6,500.
Similarly, the cost of water transportation has noticed a significant increase in Delta State by N500, followed by Rivers N3,200, and lowest in Borno N364; followed by N420 in Kebbi State.
According to statistics, the distribution of transportation fare categories by zones reveals that in December 2022, the North-East recorded the highest transportation fare for bus trips within the city with N695, followed by the South-South with N657, with N604.31, the South-East recorded the lowest.
The South-West had the highest intercity bus fare, N4,246, followed by the North-East with N4,077, and the North-West had the lowest, N3,802.
In December 2022, the South-East reported the highest air transportation fare of N76,260, followed by the North-East with N75,850. With N71,942, North-Central had the least.
