Private transport owners have announced a 25 per cent increase in fares between Nigerian states.
This was contained in a memo issued, on Tuesday, by the Association of Private Transport Company Owners of Nigeria (APTCON).
According to the internal memo titled, “Notification of Price Increase Effective 25th August 2022,” private interstate passenger transport company owners of Nigeria are mandated to “increase bus fares across all interstate routes by 25% effective 25th August, 2022.
This is “sequel to the prevalent harsh economic situation as well as the recently announced increase in petrol pump price across the country, the board of APTCON, in collaboration with its member companies, have deliberated and have unanimously agreed that a marginal increase in interstate transportation fares is inevitable,” the memo stated.
In order to solicit the understanding of Nigerians, APTCON highlighted the challenges plaguing the transport sector;
– Price of fuelling vehicles increased from N165 to N179 –(percentage increase of 7%)
– Cost of Diesel has risen from an average of N250 a year ago to over N800 today (percentage increase of 220%)
– Nigeria’s inflation hits a 65-month high of 18.6% in June 2022 significantly increasing cost of operations by at least 50%
– Scarcity of Forex and high exchange rates have made it impossible for transporters to purchase new vehicles.
– Cost of spare parts for vehicle maintenance has risen by almost 80%
– Unit cost of Hiace buses have risen from N25million to N37 million – (percentage increase of 48%)