By Theodore Opara

Contrary to the impression that many Nigerians would not be travelling for this year’s Christmas and New Year holidays due to the economic hardship in their country, people are trooping to the bus stations to board vehicles and aircraft to their country homes, but with pains due to astronomical fares

The airports too are getting busy as many families, including those living abroad, are making frantic efforts to take the next available flights to their various states.

Investigations by Vanguard, however, showed that domestic flights for the season have been fully booked by frequent flyers.

Even as the majority of travellers are left with no option than to go by road, they still have to contend with high cost and fear of insecurity on the highway.

Road travellers face high fare

Road transport companies have also doubled their fares. A visit to some of the bus stations in Lagos, such as Yaba, Orile, Oshodi and Maza-Maza by Vanguard revealed that transport fares to the eastern part of the country have increased astronomically for mini and high capacity buses.

While the high capacity buses, usually referred to as luxury buses by Nigerians, which though look rickety, are not considerate with their charges, the mini-buses, including Toyota Sienna, Hiace buses and the likes, are charging almost double the price they were collecting a month ago.

For instance, luxury buses which charged N23,000 a week ago, are now demanding between N33,000 and N40,000 per passenger.

Our investigations revealed further that big transport companies such as Chisco, Okeyson, and The Young Shall Grow charged N40,000 as at December 22, 2024.

It was learnt that most of the buses travel at night, making the journey more scary because of the security situation in the country.

Mini bus operators charging N33,000 barely a week ago are now asking for N52,000 to N55,000 and would not accept advanced booking since they are expecting the fare to go up the next day.

Transport companies like Andyriz Motors, GUO Transport, The Young Motors and God is Good as well as Sienna buses loading around the parks are collecting N52,000.

When Vanguard spoke to their ticketing officers, pretending to be a prospective traveller, they disclosed that they could not guarantee that the fare would remain the same the following day..

The transport companies, however, were quick to explain that the reasons for the high fare was the fact that there were hardly passengers to bring back from the eastern and other parts parts of the country during this Christmas season..

They argued that with empty buses returning to Lagos, the transport companies would be operating at a huge loss if they did not increase the fare from Lagos.

“Don’t forget that we are buying fuel at a very high price, coupled with the wear and tear of vehicles due to bad roads. The only way out is to increase fare,” one of the operators said.

Meanwhile, Lagos to Abuja on a Sienna bus is being offered between N38,000 and N42,000, and has in the last twenty-four hours risen to about N60,000 per trip.

Some passengers who spoke to Vanguard, said the Christmas season provides them with the opportunity to re-integrate with their families, so children could see other relatives residing in the eastern part of the country.

At Mazamaza, Lagos motor park, a woman, who was travelling with his three children to the east, said: “We also see this as a sacrifice for the children who are visiting their state of origin for the first time. The children need to know their root. Their father and I have been planning this holiday for a few years now and we are looking at the transport fare, which is very high”

Others who spoke to Vanguard, said the season had always been a very special one for easterners, both in Nigeria and abroad, to travel to their villages and re-unite with their families, not minding the high transport fares and other inconveniencies.

Due to the high transport fare, the travellers want the federal government to restore the 50 per cent fare reduction on inter-state luxury bus routes granted road passengers at this time last year.
The 50% “palliative” lasted between December 2023 and the second week of 2024.

The passengers, who spoke at various terminals and loading stations in Lagos, were reacting to the upsurge in fares to about N40,000 on luxury buses and N65,000 on mini-buses going to the east.

Checks at some of the boarding stations revealed that upon hearing the announcement of free train ride by the government last, some passengers thronged the loading stations at various points in Lagos to benefit from the gesture, but were disappointed when they were informed that government’s offer covered only train services.

Transporters react

Reacting to the passengers’ complaints about high fares at the terminal owned by Lagos State Government, Damian Ezuma, the manager of Izu Chukwu Transport, blamed the situation on the rising cost of maintaining the buses as well as the high pump price of diesel which, he said, was 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 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 queried.

He confirmed that many intending travellers who heard about the free train services offered by the federal government had been coming to the terminal to make enquiries on whether long distance-plying buses were part of the gesture and whether last season’s fare discount applied this year.

Many of them leave the terminal disappointed, deciding not to travel anymore, while also waiting for a possible fare palliative from the government on road transport which the federal government announced last Thursday.

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 had 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 in their return journeys.

“So, some operators slightly adjust their fares upward to cover the losses incurred during return trips,” he explained.

In 2023, the special fare discount by government through the luxury bus owners, took effect on December 21, and lasted till the second week of January 2024.

Transporters yet to implement FG 50% fare reduction

Although the federal government last Thursday announced a 50 per cent slash in interstate transport fares for the Yuletide season, transporters are yet to implement this.

They claimed the details were still being fine-tuned, adding that they could only implement this after receiving support funds from the government.

The Director of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Olujimi Oyetomi, in a statement, said: “To commence the 2024 Yuletide road transportation, passen-gers will board buses to their destinations for only 50% of fares, as declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”

He added that a memorandum of understanding was signed between the federal government and major operators of interstate transport routes through their unions for smooth implementation. However, at press time, the palliative is yet to start off as government has not fulfilled its own side of the bargain with operators.

Boom for technicians

Meanwhile, auto technicians are cashing in the season with many people taking their vehicles for overhaul and makeover to stave off the high fares charged by commercial vehicles.

Mr. Ola, an auto mechanic based in Ohiti, in the Amuwo Odofin area of Lagos, told Vanguard that the Christmas or the month of December generally remained the best for him because he makes a lot of money from his customers bringing their vehicles for overhaul.

“My workshop is usually busy during this season as my customers bombard me with work. The easterners travel this time of the year and they bring their vehicles for total turnaround and I make a lot of money from that.’’

A vulcanizer, who preferred to remaibn anonymous, told Vanguard that this was the period of his profit making.

According to him, most of the customers bring out their big sport utility vehicles to replace their tyres.

“I usually make double gains. Apart from getting paid for work done, some of them give me the old tyres. To me, though I am a Muslim; it is a season of joy for me and my family,” he stated.

Fully booked flights, high airfares

The situation is not different with air travels, as a visit to the domestic wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, revealed high level patronage but with agonising high fares per flight.

Findings by Vanguard showed that for Nigeria’s largest flag carrier, Air Peace, a one-way economy ticket from Abuja to Anambra ranged from N200,100 to N285,800.

On the same airline, there were no available seats for travellers intending to fly from Lagos to Anambra between December 20 and 25, leaving December 26 as the next available option, with an economy ticket priced at N285,800.

For Lagos to Enugu on the same carrier, no seats were available from December 20 to 27, while flights from Lagos to Owerri on the airline were fully booked from December 20 to 30.

Meanwhile, Ibom Air had no flights from Lagos to Enugu between December 20 and 28.

Similarly, the airline had no flights from Lagos to Uyo during the same period, with December 29 being the earliest available date, and a one-way economy ticket is priced at N152,700.

For United Nigeria, checks revealed that a one-way Business Class ticket from Lagos to Anambra yesterday, December 23, was available for N400,000.

However, flights from Lagos to Owerri on the carrier were sold out from December 20 to 31.

Speaking to Vanguard, a passenger, who bought her ticket for Abuja to Lagos in October, however, argued that Nigerians were flying but with pains occasioned by the high inflationary trend in the country.

While lamenting that fares for Abuja to Lagos appeared to have dropped after she purchased her ticket in October, she hinted that competition along that route could have caused the reduction.

The passenger, who identified herself simply as Sia, said: “A day before I came to Lagos from Abuja, I tried to book a ticket, but it was N110,000 and it was surprising because it was cheaper when compared to the ticket I bought in October for December.

“When I got to the airport, I met a staff of the airline to whom I complained that if I had known that the ticket for Lagos to Abuja would be cheaper this period, I would have waited.

‘’However, the personnel told me the price dropped slightly because two airlines had just commenced operations on the Abuja-Lagos route.

When Vanguard asked an official at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal Two, MMA2, to compare the passengers traffic with previous years, he said: “Well, the usual festive boom is kicking off, but you know I cannot give statistics. Yes, the boom can be compared to previous years, and surprisingly so. That the airlines have sold out seats are a testament.”

Meanwhile, another passenger disagreed, saying the aircraft she flew from Abuja to Lagos was not full.
The traveller, who didn’t want his name in print, told Vanguard: “It is not like there were no passengers, but it was not full. Those airlines that are saying their seats have been booked for the Christmas period are telling lies. They will lock it down from their end so that they can sell it at a higher rate when the days are close.

‘’At the airport, there are people who will tell you if you want a seat for this particular flight, this is what you will pay. For instance, I had an issue with my flight because the person who did the booking for me made a mistake, so I missed my flight. But I got another flight when I got to the airport.”
Many air passengers who could not afford the high fares resorted to travelling by road to their destinations, bracing the insecurity across the country and the harassment by security agents on the highway.