Yuletide: Passengers Bemoan High Transport Fares, Seek Return Of FG’s Rebate

As rail transport passengers nationwide began to enjoy the Christmas free train rides courtesy of President Bola Tinubu, other Nigerians travelling by road to various destinations across the country for the Christmas and New Year celebrations have cried out to the Federal Government to extend the same gesture to road transport routes across the country.

Alternatively, the travellers want the Federal Government to restore the 50 per cent fare reduction on inter-state luxury bus routes granted to road passengers at this season last year, which lasted between December 2023 and second week of January 2024.

The passengers, who spoke at various terminals and loading stations of interstate road transport companies in Lagos, were reacting to the sharp upsurge in fares to about N40, 000 on luxury buses and N65, 000 respectively on mini buses going to the East.

Checks at some of the boarding stations revealed that upon hearing the announcement of free train ride, some passengers thronged the loading stations at various points in Lagos to benefit from the gesture, but were disappointed when they were informed that the offer did not cover road transport.

At Terminal 1 in Oshodi, Alafia, Jibowu, Maza Maza, and private stations in the Cele/Ejigbo axis, on Saturday, passengers bemoaned the high cost on both the big and small buses, disclosing that many people were not travellong because they couldn’t afford “the exorbitant fares the transport firms are collecting.”

Interestingly, a trip on board Toyota Sienna which used to attract slightly higher fare than on a typical minibus, is now the same at N40, 500 One of the passengers told New Telegraph: “You press people should please tell (President Bola) Tinubu that poor masses cannot afford to go home this Christmas because there is no money in the country.

(President) Tinubu should please repeat the 50 per cent discount on long distance fares which some of us enjoyed last year to travel home.”

At a Young Shall Grow station, a passenger who planned to travel to the East recalled how he took advantage of the 50 per cent fare discount to travel from Abuja to Onitsha and back in 2023, and wondered why the Federal Government has not considered the re-introduction of the palliative this festive season.

According to the man who gave his name as Chinedu Uzoechina, his intention to travel to Anambra State and back with his wife and five children, has been stalled by the high transport fares being charged at the various terminals.

Uzoechina, who came to book seats in advance, lamented: “I was hoping that the 50 per cent fare discount that followed the increase in fuel pump price would be available this year, but that has not been the case this year.

Forty thousand into seven is N280, 000 for one-way luxury (bus) tickets. “If you add the cost of coming back, it means I will spend nothing less than N560, 000 on transportation alone for the seven of us.

Where will I get that kind of money? I have called my wife to inform her of the situation here (at the terminals in Cele). She is not happy that we are not travelling anymore, but what can I do?”

According to him, the only thing that could make his family travel again is if the Federal Government extends the free train-ride offer to long distance road transport routes, like Lagos East, or reduces the fares in Like Uzoechina, many other intending travelers were still hopeful that the government would still intervene with a fare discount, even as they disclosed that they would either cancel the trips outright, or reduce the number of tickets to be bought, if their hopes are dashed.

It was learnt that the fares were slightly lower by about N2, 000 at Terminal 1 where both big and mini buses have been loading for day and night trips at Oshodi.

Reacting to the passengers’ complaints about high fares at the terminal owned by the Lagos State Government, Damian Ezuma, the manager of Izu Chukwu Transport, blamed the situation on the rising cost of maintaining the buses as well as on the pump price of diesel, which he said, is as high as N2, 000 a litre in some parts of the country.

“It is not our fault. The cost of maintenance is so high that it is only by the grace of God that some of the transport companies still manage to keep their buses on the road these days.