The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within cities per drop rose by 35.28 per cent from N352.15 in January 2021 to N476.39 in January 2022, according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The report, which shows transport fare for January 2022, covers the following categories: bus journey within the city per drop constant route; bus journey intercity, state route, a charge per person; airfare charge for specified routes single journey; journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop; and waterway passenger transport.
The NBS said that in January 2022 that most of these categories of transport mentioned above recorded a marginal increase.
According to the report, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey increased by 0.26 percent on month-on-month from N38,253.35 in December 2021 to N38,352.19 in January 2022. On year-on-year, the fare rose by 5.18 percent from N36,463.65 in January 2021 to N38,352.19 in January 2022.
The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity stood at N2,801.36 in January 2022, indicating an increase of 0.59 per cent on month-on-month when compared to the value of N2,784.92 in December 2021.
The fare also rose by 19.39 percent on year-on-year from N2,346.41 in January 2021 to N2,801.34 in January 2022.
Similarly, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 1.18 per cent month-on-month from N470.83 in December 2021 to N476.39 in January 2022.
Financial experts linked the hike in transport fare to various economic issues including inflation, the rising cost of living, among others.
“Inflation is a major factor here driving the rise in the cost of transportation. The cost of vehicle maintenance for transport business operators here is also a factor,” an economist and analyst, Mr Kunle Okuwobi, said.
