Intercity Transport Fare Rises 86.40% In December – NBS

The average fare paid by commuters for an intercity bus journey rose by 86.40 per cent on a year-on-year basis from N3, 971.22 in December 2022 to N7,402.16 in December 2023, the National Bureau Statistics (NBS), said on Wednesday.

This is as a total of 594,348 passengers travelled via the rail system in quarter three of 2023, compared to 500,348 passengers reported in the corresponding quarter of 2022, the NBS) also said.

NBS’ Rail Transportation Data of Q3, 2023 released on Wednesday revealed that the increase represents a growth rate of 18.79 percent compared to that of the same period in 2022.

According to NBS, the volume of goods and cargo transported in quarter three of 2023 stood at 81,963 tons, compared to 33,312 tons recorded in quarter three of 2022.

In terms of revenue generation, the report disclosed that the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) generated N1.49 billion from passengers during the reference period, showing an increase of 108.25 percent from the N715.09 million recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.

“Similarly, a total of N286.78 million was collected from goods and cargo conveyed in quarter three of 2023, up by 181.58 percent from N101.84 million received in quarter three of 2022. In addition, other receipts amounted to N119.22 million, indicating an increase of 1.05 percent in the period under review 2023 from the N117.98 million collected in the same period in 2022,” NBS stated.

Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, the average fare paid by commuters for intercity bus journeys rose by 19.26 per cent compared to N6,206.53 in November 2023.

NBS’ Transport Fare Watch for December 2023 released on Wednesday, disclosed that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city rose by 40.03 percent from N644.66 in December 2022 to N902.70 while it declined to 13.83 percent from N1, 047.64 in November to N902.70 in December 2023.

NBS further disclosed that the average transport fare paid on Okada transportation was N419.73 in December 2023 which declined by 9.04 percent when compared with N461.45 paid by commuters in December 2022 while Okada fare declined by 11.29 percent on a month-month basis when compared with N473.13 paid by commuters in November 2023.

“For water transport, the average fare paid by passengers increased by 34.77 percent from N1,029.00 in December 2022 to N1,386.76 in December 2023. Monthly, the fare paid by waterway passengers increased by 2.52 percent from N1,352.70 in November to N1,386.76 in December.

“In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey rose by 14.87 percent from N74, 597.30 in December 2022 to N85, 692.12 in December 2023 while on a month-month basis, it increased by 5.36 percent compared to November 2023,” NBS said.

On state profile analysis, the highest intercity bus travel fare was recorded in Akwa Ibom and Anambra with N10,000.00, followed by Abia, Abuja, Adamawa, Bayelsa, Cross River and Gombe with N8,500.00.

The lowest fare was recorded in Kwara with N5,500.00, followed by Taraba with N6,000.00. Taraba state recorded the highest bus journey within the city in December 2023 with N1,350.00 followed by Jigawa with N1,200.00. On the other hand, Abia, Adamawa, and Sokoto states recorded the least with N500.00, followed by Kano with N700.00.

Similarly, Akwa Ibom recorded the highest air transport charges with N95,000.00, followed by Borno with N91,000.00. Conversely, Abia recorded the least fare with N71,000.00, followed by Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau with N80,000.00.

Also, Lagos State had the highest motorcycle transport fare in December 2023 with N800.00, followed by Ondo with N700.00.

The lowest fare was recorded in Anambra with N200.00, while Bayelsa, Edo and Niger followed with N250.00. Similarly, water transport fares were highest in Bayelsa with N4,500.00, followed by Delta and Rivers with N4,100.00, while the lowest fare was recorded in Borno with N450.00, followed by Gombe with N550.00.

For Analysis by zone in December 2023, transport fares of bus journeys within the city recorded the highest in the South-South with N950.00, followed by the North-East with N925.00, while the South-East recorded the lowest with N840.00.

In terms of intercity bus journeys, the South-South had the highest fare with N8,083.33 followed by the South-East with N7,800.00, while the North-Central recorded the lowest with N7,011.43.

Air transportation in December 2023, the South-South recorded the highest fare with N88,918.06, followed by the North-East with N86,750.00 while the North-Central had the least with N82,157.14.

Also, commuters on a motorcycle (Okada) paid the highest fare in the South-West with N488.33 and North-East with N450.00, while the South-South recorded the lowest with N391.67.

The South-South zone had the highest fare on water transport with N3,500.00, followed by the Southwest with N1,375.00, while the Northeast had the lowest with N780.00.