The effect of fuel subsidy removal has tripled cost of transportation in the major means of transportation in the country, causing commuters to pay higher for bus journeys (city per drop) increased by 3.96% from N1,285.41 in June to N1,336.29 in July 2023, National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) transport watch data showed.
Released on Friday, the report noted the fare rose by 121.69% from N602.77 in July 2022 on year- on-year comparison. In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N5,919.49 in July 2023, indicating an increase of 4.10% on a month-on-month basis compared to N5,686.49 in June 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 57.50% from N3,758.46 in July 2022. In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey increased by 0.17% from N78,640.54 in June 2023 to N78,775.74 in July 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 29.54% from N60,811.54 in July 2022. The average transport fare paid on ‘Okada’ transportation was N646.12 in July 2023 which was 4.46% higher than the rate recorded in June 2023 (N618.52).
On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 48.42% when compared with July 2022 (N435.07). For water transport (water- way passenger transportation), the average fare paid in July 2023 increased to N1,406.70 from N1,366.22 which indicate an in- crease of 2.96% on monthly basis from June 2023.
On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 45.65% from N965.82 in July 2022. Transport Fare Watch for July 2023 covers categories such as, bus journey within the city per drop constant route; bus journey inter-city (state route) charge per person; air fare charge for specified routes single journey; journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop; and water way passenger transport.