Easter Celebration: Commuters Groan Hike In Transport Fare

Commuters at the Jabi Motor Park in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have expressed dissatisfaction over the increase in transport fare. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday reports that some commuters were stranded at the motor park due to the sharp increase in cost of transportation to their various destinations. Mr Ayodeji Dele, one of the commuters who spoke to NAN attributed the hike to the pending rumour on the removal of subsidy by the Federal Government. Dele said that the rumour had made many transporters to jack-up their fares, before a new price regime would ensure. According to him, we have been paying N2,500 for buses from Abuja to Akure, but now there is a five hundred naira increase making it N3,000. Another commuter, Mr Isa Tukur, said the cost of travelling to Lokoja before the Easter was N600 for a bus, but now it is N1,000. He attributed the increase to a delay in getting to Lokoja caused by the traffic jam along Gwagwalada-Abaji express way. When contacted, Mr Danjuma Yabo, an official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Jabi branch, said that the hike was caused by the delay the transporters faced on the Abuja-Lokoja high way. Yabo regretted the manner in which both passengers and transporters had been put to stress due to the bad roads. According to him, it took some eight hours to get to Lokoja from Abuja. NAN reports that there were few passengers at the park as the Easter holiday continues. (NAN)