Nigerians pay 66% higher on bus transport within cities – NBS

The cost of transiting from one part to another within Nigerian cities has skyrocketed by 65.76 per cent between June 2020 and June 2021, making Nigerian to pay more amidst falling purchasing power.

The National Bureau of Statistics revealed this in the Transport fare Watch report for July 2021 which covered various category such as 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.

According to the report, average fare paid by commuters for bus journey within the city decreased by -0.01 per cent month-on-month (MoM) but increased by 65.76 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to N410.17 in June 2021 from N410.23 in June 2021.

States with highest bus journey fare within city were Bauchi (N614.07), Taraba (N530.45) and Cross River (N520.08) while States with lowest bus journey fare within city were Oyo (N210.30), Abia (N235.30) and Borno (N280.40).

In the same vein, average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity increased by 0.81 per cent month-on-month and by 41.41 per cent year-on-year to N2,542.95 in July 2021 from N2,522.44 in June 2021.

NBS found that states with highest bus journey fare intercity were Abuja FCT (N4,676.07), Lagos (N3,589.55) and Sokoto (N3,390.00) while States with lowest bus journey fare within city were Bayelsa (N1,835.10), Bauchi (N1,876.24) and Enugu (N1,897.14).

Average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey increased by 0.36 per cent month-on-month and by 0.50 per cent year-on-year to N36,793.24 in July 2021 from N36,662.57 in June 2021.

States with highest air fare were Bauchi (N38,700.00), Rivers (N38,550.00), Lagos (N38,300.00) while States with lowest air fare were Akwa-Ibom (N33,200.00), Sokoto (N33,800.00), and Gombe (N35,000.00).

Average fare paid by commuters for journey by motorcycle per drop increased by 0.98% month-on-month and by 70.49% year-on-year to N294.02 in July 2021 from N291.18 in June 2021. States with highest journey fare by motorcycle per drop were Yobe/Zamfara (N460.05), Lagos (N450.20) and Taraba (N450.05) while states with lowest journey fare by motorcycle per drop were Adamawa (N100.00), Kaduna (N170.08) and Kebbi (N175.45).

Average fare paid by passengers for water way passenger transport decreased by -0.51% month-on-month and increased by 28.34% year-on-year to N831.97 in July 2021 from N836.23 in June 2021. States with highest fare by water way passenger transport were Delta (N2,500.12), Bayelsa (N2,450.12) and Rivers (N2,290.23) while states with lowest fare by water way passenger transport were Borno (N260.32), Gombe (N362.40) and Kebbi (N365.70).