By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Both intercity and interstate bus fares rose countrywide in October, highlighting rising inflation stoked as much by hikes in fuel pump price as by food price inflation in Nigeria’s economy dominated by oil without incentive for the real sector.
Intercity bus fare rose 68.82 per cent year-on-year from N190.86 in October 2019 to N322.22 in October 2020, according to the latest transport fare watch report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Average intercity fare increased 4.03 per cent in October 2020 compared to N309.73 the previous month.
States with the highest intercity bus fare were Zamfara (N585.34), Bauchi (N504.78), and Cross River (N431.04). States with the lowest fare were Abia (N192.11), Kebbi (N205.47), and Borno (N208.15).
The categories covered in the report are
· 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 taxi (Okada) per drop
· Waterway passenger transport
Highlights
The highlights of the data, per reporting by Nairametrics, include
· Average intercity bus fare increased 9.25 per cent to N2,209.84 against N2,022.7 in September 2020, and 35 per cent compared to N1,636.86 in September 2019.
· States with the highest interstate bus fare were Abuja (N4,376.09), Lagos (N3,073.41), and Sokoto (N3,055.12). States with the lowest fare were Bayelsa (N1,473.67), Enugu (N1,560.00), and Bauchi (N1,560.49).
· Average fare by motorcycle taxi (Okada) per drop rose 3.88 per cent month-on-month and by 115.50 per cent year-on-year to N265.41 in October 2020 from N255.51 and N123.16 respectively.
· States with the highest motorcycle taxi fare per drop were Niger (N1,476.40), Kogi (N372.45), and Rivers (N352.47). States with the lowest fare were Adamawa (N78.49), Katsina (N106.20), and Kebbi (N135.75).
· Average air fare decreased -1.70 per cent compared to N36,884.59 in September 2020. But it increased 18.42 per cent (year-on-year) to N36,256.08 against N30,615.43 in October 2019.
· States with the highest air fare were Anambra (N38,500.00), Cross River (N38,460.00), Jigawa (N38,250.00). States with the lowest air fare were Akwa Ibom (N32,750.00), Sokoto (N33,250.00), and Gombe (N34,800.00).
Motorcycle taxi fare per drop had more than doubled at N255.51 in September 2020 compared to September 2019 or rose 111.11 per cent.
Increase in transport fares across the country is also the effect of the coronavirus pandemic which compels transporters to reduce the number of passengers and raise fares.
Reduction in the number of passengers on public transport is part of government guidelines to check the spread of the virus.
