Commuters using the LAGBUS and Bus Rapid Transit buses in Lagos will pay more from March 1, following the Lagos State Government’s approval of upward review in their fares.

Thousands of Lagos residents queue up daily to make use of the buses to enjoy lower fares and use the BRT to beat gridlock in the city due to their use of dedicated lanes.

The Lagos State Government said on Monday that it had approved fare increase ranging from 20 per cent to 50 per cent on different routes plied by the buses.

The Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority, Mr Abiodun Dabiri, told newsmen in Alausa that the new fare structure for regulated bus operators in the state would take effect from March 1.

He said that, though the government was mindful of the current financial difficulties residents were going through, it approved the fare increase to save the bus schemes from collapse.

Dabiri said what the bus operators spent on fuel had gone up 71 per cent, oil by 64 per cent and tyre by 90 per cent, threatening their continued operations.

He said, “In view of this and with government’s responsibility to avert a collapse of the franchise scheme, which currently serves over 500,000 commuters daily, government had to consider request by the operators for an upward review of bus fares.”

Dabiri said the current fares charged on some of the schemes had stayed constant for more than six years in the case of some operators.

He said that though the government granted the request for fare increase, it would not allow transport users to do so arbitrarily.

According to him, the operators have also been advised to improve their cost efficiency and effectiveness.

He said, “It will be difficult to pass the entire cost of operations to the consumers, bearing in mind that a lot of the users are in the low income bracket.”

He appealed to commuters to show understanding as the new fares take effect.

From March 1, commuters from Ikorodu to Mile 12 would pay N100 as against N75.

According to Dabiri, combining two zones like going from Ikorodu to Fadeyi will be N200 instead of N120, while combining three zones – Ikorodu to CMS – will be N300, instead of N200.

Giving a breakdown of the new fares on the LAGBUS routes, its Managing Director, Mr. Idowu Oguntona, said that the fare from CMS to Ajah would be N200, up from N150.

He said that commuters from Leventis to Eko Hotel would pay N100 instead of N70, while those going to CMS from Oshodi would pay N150 as against N100.

Oguntona said the new fare regime would affect the 61 routes of LAGBUS.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Council of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria has issued an outright condemnation of the proposed increment and have demanded an immediate withdrawal.

The TUC in Lagos State said it feels pained that such bus fare increment, which it translated to mean more hardship in all spheres of life, could be undertaken at this critical point that there is economic hardship occasioned by failure of governance.

It added in the statement: “We therefore insist that this fare hike is insensitive, wicked, ungodly and draconian, to say the least. The move further exposes the state government as being completely out of touch with the realities of the suffering of the masses of the state.”

“It will be recalled that the TUC, its counterpart, the Nigeria Labour Congress, and the civil society bodies were forced to stage a protest rally last week because of the pains Nigerians are going through; unfortunately the state government appears indifferent of our plight.

“It has become instructive to state that the BRT AND LAGBUS are monopolistic undertakings of some private individuals and moneybags; who contrary to fair practice are unduly allocated a section of the public road to the detriment of other people in transport business. We submit that the business is viable at the prevailing fares due to the untenable principle of monopoly, as the single largest transport system at the heart of Lagos. And that approval of 20-50% fare hike as an error must be corrected through the withdrawal of the increment. The unilateral nature of the increment without due consultation with other stakeholders including the TUC to examine all the issues related to the increment is condemnable. Hence the Lagos State Council of TUC hereby calls on Governor Ambode to correct his mistake by withdrawing the approval immediately.”

The statement was signed by the Lagos State Chairman of the TUC, Comrade Francis Ogunremi.

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