Even though normalcy has returned to the sale of fuel all over the country, operators of public transport vehicles have refused to bring down transport fares on both intra-city and inter-city routes.
The transporters had increased fares during the recent acute fuel crisis, but have refused to respond to the steady supply in fuel which has been prevalent in the last couple of weeks.
Investigations carried out at some of the motor parks in Lagos state revealed that despite the steady supply of fuel into service stations, some of the transporters still hike their fares.
At some major parks at popular Mile 2, Ijora and Apapa, passengers lamented the arbitrary increase by the transporters and their refusal to bring down the fare despite the reduction in the pump price of petrol.
Shipping Position Weekly gathered that at the popular Mile 2 motor park, a journey from Lagos to Ilorin (Kwara state) by mini-bus still costs N1, 500 instead of the previous fare of N1, 200, while a journey by car is still N3,000, instead of N2,500 naira that it has always been. Passengers travelling from Lagos to Ibadan are still forced to pay N700 instead of the N500 previously charged.
Meanwhile at the intra-city level, a journey from Oshodi to Ikorodu is N150 as against the N100naira which it used to cost, while a trip from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko still remains at N150 instead of N100.
Mr. Shina Olagunju a maritime industry worker explained to Shipping Position Weekly in Apapa last week that the recent increase has eaten deep into his meagre salary, he said that all efforts by passengers to convince the transport union officials to get the drivers to reduce their fares have so far fallen on deaf ears.
Also, a passenger at Bolade bus stop in Oshodi, Mr. Olayiwola Igbekele who is a business man also complained that the situation has seriously affected his business saying that: “before the petrol scarcity, I pay less on transportation, but it seems it is now that the price has gone down that we are made to pay more, I now pay two times more than the normal fare before the fuel crisis”, he said.
However, in a brief chat with one of the drivers, Mr. Solomon Akpomuje at the Ijora under bridge Motor Park, he declared that the high transport fares will remain for now because of other problems transporters face. “The prices of spare parts have continued to increase on daily basis coupled with our workmanship to mechanics, vulcanizers, battery chargers and so on, most importantly the vehicle spare parts sellers, in the face of these difficulties we are helpless” he lamented.
At Mile 2, a commercial motorcycle (Okada) rider who also cried out over the situation blamed it on the crooked ways of some petrol station attendants at fuel stations who have adjusted their pumps. “Sometimes, you want to buy N1, 000 worth of fuel but due to the adjustment in the pump, what you get at the end of the day is N800 worth of fuel, so you will have to make do with what you have and realize your money back, it is not only our fault, but that of the filling stations as well ” , he pointed out.
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