Subsidy: Nigerian intra-city bus fares rise 97% in one month

Nigerians paid 97.8% more intra-city bus fares in June compared with May 2023, following the removal of fuel subsidies.

This was disclosed by the National Bureau of Statistics in its Transport Fare Watch for June 2023.

According to the report Bauchi state recorded the highest bus journey within the city (per drop constant route) in June 2023 with N1,700.00, followed by Jigawa with N1,570.00, as Imo state recorded the least with N710.00, followed by Adamawa with N840.00.

Transport Fare Disparities

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration speech on May 29th announced that the Nigerian Government has removed fuel subsidy, an act which has seen the number of cars reduce drastically in Nigeria’s major commercial cities as Nigerians deal with the inflationary effects of the removal.

The report notes that the Transport fare covers bus journey within the city per drop constant route; bus journey intercity (state route) charge per person; air fare charge for specified routes single journey; journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop; and water way passenger transport.

Intra-City

The report noted that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 97.88% from N649.59 in May 2023 to N1,285.41 in June 202, adding:

“On a year-on-year basis, it rose by 120.63% from N582.61 in June 2022. In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N5,686.49 in June 2023, indicating an increase of 42.09% on a month-on-month basis compared to N4,002.16 in May 2023.

“On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 55.25% from N3,662.87 in June 2022.
Okada

For Motorcycle transport usually used by Nigerians for shorter distances, the average transport fare paid on Okada transportation was N618.52 in June 2023 which was 33.14% higher than the rate recorded in May 2023 (N464.55).

“On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 48.34% when compared with June 2022 (N416.97).

High Cost in Air Travel

Meanwhile, Air Travel recorded on a year-on-year basis, an increase of 40.22% from N56,082.64 in June 2022, they said:

“In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes’ single journey increased by 4.93% from N74,948.78 in May 2023 to N78,640.54 in June 2023.

“On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 40.22% from N56,082.64 in June 2022.
“Delta recorded the highest air transport charges (for specified routes single journeys) with N87,000.00, followed by Kebbi with N83,500.00.

“Conversely, Abia recorded the least fare with N70,000.00, followed by Niger with N73,000.00.

On state profile analysis, Bauchi state recorded the highest bus journey within the city in June 2023 with N1,700.00, followed by Jigawa with N1,570.00. On the other hand, Imo state recorded the least with N710.00, followed by Adamawa with N840.00, adding:

“For intercity bus travel (state route charged per person fare), the highest fare was recorded in Abuja with N8,500.00, followed by Anambra with N8,000.00.

“The least fare was recorded in Kwara with N3,400.00, followed by Zamfara with N3,700.00

Dealing with the price increase

Nairametrics reported recently that The Lagos State Government moved to ensure the implementation of the reduction of transport fares by state-owned buses and commercial buses by 50% and 25% 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.