The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within city limits increased to ₦223.71 in April 2020.
According to the agency’s Transport Fare Watch report published on Wednesday, May 27, this represents an increase of 8.21% month-on-month and 23.43% year-on-year from ₦206.73 in March 2020.
The report covers 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.
Many states in Nigeria imposed partial or total restrictions on movements in April in a bid to combat the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This led to a hike in fares that many commuters complained bitterly about as economic activities ground to a halt.
The states with the highest bus journey fares within cities in April were Zamfara (₦410), Kebbi (₦348), and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja (₦332.20); while states with the lowest were Bauchi (₦140), Rivers (₦150), and Sokoto (₦155).
The NBS conducted its study using prices collected across all the 774 local government areas across all 36 states and the FCT from over 10,000 respondents and locations.
