Commuters to pay more as private transporters increase fare by 25 per cent

The effect of the economic downturn keeps ravaging crucial sectors as private transport owners have announced a 25 per cent increase in fares between Nigerian states.

This was contained in a memo issued on Tuesday by the Association of Private Transport Company Owners of Nigeria (APTCON), addressed to operators under its aegis.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that Premium Breadmakers Association of Nigeria (PBAN) had announced that the price of bread is expected to rise by 20 with the bakers divided on how to address the increase in price of raw materials occasioned by the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

According to the internal memo titled, “Notification of Price Increase Effective 25th August 2022,” private interstate passenger transport company owners of Nigeria are mandated to “increase bus fares across all interstate routes by 25% effective 25th August, 2022.

This is “sequel to the prevalent harsh economic situation as well as the recently announced increase in petrol pump price across the country, the board of APTCON, in collaboration with its member companies, have deliberated and have unanimously agreed that a marginal increase in interstate transportation fares is inevitable,” the memo further clarified.

The body also explained that this increase was borne out of the “downturn that has greatly affected all sectors of the economy especially transportation. In response to the high cost of operations, while many trade associations have increased charges as a means of survival, some others, like the elitist airlines, have received post pandemic intervention funds from the government.

Read also: Commuters paid more for transport fare despite drop in petrol price in August– NBS

“Unfortunately, our industry, who moves 96% of Nigerians, is not exempt from the crisis as our operating costs have risen significantly without any form of governmental support or incentive.”

In order to solicit the understanding of Nigerians, APTCON enumerated the challenges plaguing the transport sector.

It noted the challenges facing the interstate transport sector to include:

1. Price of fuelling vehicles increased from N165 to N179 –(percentage increase of 7%)

2. Cost of Diesel has risen from an average of N250 a year ago to over N800 today (percentage increase of 220%)

3. Nigeria’s inflation hits a 65-month high of 18.6% in June 2022 significantly increasing cost of operations by at least 50%

4. Scarcity of Forex and high exchange rates have made it impossible for transporters to purchase new vehicles.

5. Cost of spare parts for vehicle maintenance has risen by almost 80%

6. Unit cost of Hiace buses have risen from N25million to N37 million – (percentage increase of 48%)

In order to mitigate losses by transport operators, the body implored “all private interstate passenger transport company owners of Nigeria to increase bus fares by at least 25% effective 25th August, 2022.”

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