Paul Ogbuokiri 
As rail transport passengers nationwide started enjoying the Christmas free train rides courtesy of President Bola Tinubu’s gesture, intending road passengers across the country travelling to various destinations in the country for the Christmas and New Year Day celebrations have cried out to the Federal Government to extend the free rail services to road transport routes across the country.
Alternatively, the travellers want the Federal Government to restore the 50 per cent fare reduction on inter-state luxury bus routes granted to road passengers at this time last year which lasted between December 2023 and the second week of 2024.
The passengers, who spoke at various terminals and loading stations of long-distance road transport companies in Lagos, were reacting to the sharp upsurge in fares to about N40,000 on luxury buses and N65,000 on minibuses going to the east.
Checks at some of the boarding stations revealed that upon hearing the announcement of the free train ride, some passengers thronged the loading stations at various points in Lagos to benefit from the gesture, but were disappointed when they were informed that the offer did not cover road transport.
At Terminal 1 in Oshodi, Alafia, Jibowu, Mazamaza, and private stations in the Cele/Ejigbo axis, on Saturday, passengers bemoaned the high cost of travelling on both the big and small buses, disclosing that many people were not travelling because they couldn’t afford “the exorbitant fares the transport firms are collecting.”
Interestingly, a trip on board a Toyota Sienna which used to attract slightly higher fares than on a typical minibus, is the same at N40,500
One of the passengers told the Sunday Telegraph at one of the stations in Cele, “You press people should please tell (President Bola) Tinubu that poor masses cannot afford to go home this Christmas because there is no money in the country. (President) Tinubu should please repeat the 50 per cent discount on long-distance fares which some of us enjoyed last year to travel home.”
At the nearby Young Shall Grow station, a passenger who planned to travel to the east recalled how he took advantage of the 50 per cent fare discount to travel from Abuja to Onitsha back in 2023, and wondered why the Federal Government has not considered the re-introduction of the palliative this festive season.
According to the man who gave his name as Chinedu Uzoechina, his intention to travel to Anambra State and back with his wife and five children has been stalled by the high transport fares being charged at the various terminals.
Uzoechina, who came to book seats in advance, lamented, “I was hoping that the 50 per cent fare discount that followed the increase in fuel pump price would be available this year, but that has not been the case this year. Forty thousand into seven is N280,000 for one-way luxury tickets.
“If you add the cost of coming back, it means I will spend nothing less than N560,000 on transportation alone for the seven of us. Where will I get that kind of money?
“I have called my wife to inform her of the situation here (at the terminals in Cele). She is not happy that we are not travelling anymore, but what can I do?”
According to him, the only thing that could make his family travel again is if the Federal Government extends the free train ride offer to long-distance road transport routes, like Lagos-east, or reduces the fares in collaboration with the operators.
Like Uzoechina, many other intending travellers were still hopeful that the government would intervene with a fare discount, even as they disclosed that they would either cancel the trips outrightly or reduce the number of tickets to be bought if their hopes were dashed.
It was learnt that the fares were slightly lower by about N2,000 at Terminal 1 where both big and minibuses have been loading for day and night trips at Oshodi.
Reacting to the passengers’ complaints about high fares at the terminal owned by the Lagos State Government, Damian Ezuma, the manager of Izu Chukwu Transport, blamed the situation on the rising cost of maintaining the buses and on the pump price of diesel, which he said is as high as N2 000 a litre in some parts of the country.
“It is not our fault. The cost of maintenance is so high that it is only by the grace of God that some of the transport companies still manage to keep their buses on the road these days. Do you know that one big bus tyre costs between N250,000 and N500,000, depending on the quality and brand?” Ezuma argued.
He confirmed that many intending travellers who heard about the free train services offered by the Federal Government have been coming to the terminal to make enquiries on whether distance-plying buses are part of the gesture and whether last season’s fare discount applies this year.
Many of them leave the terminal disappointed and decide not to travel anymore, opting instead to wait for a possible fare palliative from the government.
Also commenting on the reason for the high fares, a manager at Chisco Transport’s head office in Lagos explained that the unfavourable naira-dollar exchange rate has impacted on the prices of replacement parts and maintenance costs generally.
But, a major factor is the fact that during the peak festive season, buses are usually full when leaving major cities like Lagos and Abuja, but are almost empty on their return journeys. So, some operators slightly adjust their fares upward to cover the losses incurred during return trips.”
In 2023, the special fare discount by the government through the luxury bus owners took effect on December 21 and lasted till the second week of January 2024.
Photo caption: Sa’idu Ahmed Alkali
