The fuel scarcity currently being experienced in many parts of the country is taking its toll on Nigerians, with the average cost of transportation rising by 23.99 per cent in December, an analysis of a report prepared by the National Bureau of Statistics has revealed.
The report for December 2017 covers bus journey within the city; bus journey intercity, state route, charge per person; air fare charge for specified routes single journey; journey by motorcycle (Okada); and waterway passengers’ transport.
The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey within the city increased by 23.99 per cent month-on-month and 14.78 per cent year-on-year to N171.34 in December 2017 from N138.19 in November 2017, the report stated.
The report, which was obtained on Friday by our correspondent, said states with the highest bus journey fare within city in December 2017 were Cross River (N242.73), Jigawa (N250.00) and the Federal Capital Territory (N375.63).
On the other hand, the report gave states with the lowest bus journey fare within city in December 2017 as Bauchi (N80), Anambra (N102.21) and Borno (N105.71).
It said, “Average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity increased by 14.04 per cent month-on-month and 5.22 per cent year-on-year to N1,716.26 in December 2017 from N1,505 in November 2017.
“States with the highest bus journey fare intercity in December 2017 were Abuja FCT (N5,019), Adamawa (N3,242) and Benue (N2,803) while states with the lowest bus journey fare within city in December 2017 were Yobe (N1,000), Enugu (N1,063) and Kano (N843.75).”
For air passengers with specified routes, the report said the average fare paid for a single journey increased by 2.75 per cent month-on-month and 8.58 per cent year-on-year to N33,386 in December 2017 from N32,492 in November 2017.
It explained that states with the highest air fare in December 2017 were the FCT (N49,500), Edo (N41,000) and Jigawa (N40,000) while states with the lowest air fare in December 2017 were Kogi (N25,000),Katsina (N26,000) and Nasarawa (N27,000).
For motorcycle commuters, the report said the average fare paid by them for a journey (per drop) increased by 15.93 per cent month-on-month and 2.20 per cent year-on-year to N112.19 in December 2017 from N96.77 in November 2017.
States with the highest journey fare by motorcycle (per drop) in December 2017 were given as Ondo (N197.67), Rivers (N194.29) and Bayelsa (N190) while states with the lowest journey fare by motorcycle in December 2017 were Ekiti (N56.15), Bauchi (N60) and Niger (N55.45).
Speaking on the impact of the fuel crisis on the economy, financial analysts said there was a need for the Federal Government to adopt a “smartcard initiative” to address the issue.
PUNCH