Inter-city travel surges by 62%, says NBS

The costs of intercity bus travel jumped by 61.27 per cent in November when compared to the same period in the prior year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS Transport Fare Watch report, obtained by our correspondent, indicated that the cost of intercity bus travel soared to N6,206.53 per drop in November, compared to the previous year’s N3,848.48

The report stated, “The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop was N6,206.53 in November 2023, indicating an increase of 5.45 per cent on a month-on-month basis compared to N5,885.68 in October 2023.

 “On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 61.27 per cent from N3,848.48 in November 2022.”

Furthermore, the report noted that the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop declined by 6.23 per cent from N1,117.30 in October to N1,047.63 in November.

However, on a year-on-year basis, it rose by 64.44 per cent from N637.10 in November 2022.

On air travel, it stated that the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes for a single journey was N81,334.05 in November, showing an increase of 3.24 per cent compared to the previous month.

On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 11.01 per cent from N73,270.27 in November of the prior year.

“The average transport fare paid on Okada transportation was N473.13 in November 2023, which declined by 6.74 per cent when compared with the value recorded in October 2023 (N507.30).

 “On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 3.07 per cent when compared with November 2022 (N459.02),” the report further stated.

For water transport, the average fare paid in November 2023 decreased to N1,352.70 from N1,395.68, indicating a decrease of 3.08 per cent from the previous month.

On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 34.42 per cent from N1,006.33 in November 2022.