… Highest fares recorded in Abuja, Sokoto, Lagos
THE deregulation of the petroleum industry, which had resulted in an increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, has pushed the amount spent on transportation higher in August.
The Federal Government had in March, this year, announced its intention to introduce a price regime based on market realities.
Figures from the new Transport Fare Watch report for August 2020, published by the National Bureau of Statistics, revealed that fares across the transportation sector had reacted to the market-based pricing regime for PMS prior to the official implementation.
The Report, analysed by The Point, revealed that the average fare paid by commuters for inter-city bus journey increased by 8.69 per cent in August to N2,063, against the N1,898.1 recorded in July. This represents an increase of 26.98 per cent in one year.
The highest inter-city fare was recorded in Abuja (N4,234), Sokoto (N2,953.27) and Lagos (N2,943.27), while the lowest bus journey fare within the city was recorded in Bayelsa (N1,300), Bauchi (N1,321) and Edo (N1,435).
The Bureau noted that the average fare paid for bus journey within the city surged by 12.70 per cent to N278.88 in August 2020 from N247.46 in July, while it jumped by 48 per cent within a one-year period.
The NBS listed Zamfara, Cross River and Ekiti states among states with the highest bus fare within the city, at N550.1, N400, and N386.7 respectively.
The lowest bus fares within the city were recorded in Bauchi, Kebbi and Rivers, at N162.4, N180.18, and N182.4 respectively.
During the period, average fare paid by air passengers for specified single route journey rose by 5.6 per cent in August to N38,659.9, from N36,611.2 in July 2020, while it accelerated by 26.56 per cent in one year.
States with the highest air fare were Abuja (N43,000), Lagos (N40,600), and Borno (N40,000), while states with the lowest air fare included Ekiti (N37,450), Akwa Ibom/Edo (N37,500), and Nasarawa (N37,600).
Average fare paid for a journey by motorcycle per drop also rose by 14.37 per cent in one month to N197.2 in August, from N172.5 in July, while it increased by 63.48 per cent year-on-year.
