Muslims travelling for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration have lamented the sharp rise in transport fares across parts of the country, as transport operators also complain of low patronage despite the festive season.
The fare hike has been linked largely to the rising cost of petrol, which now sells for about ₦1,400 per litre in some locations, forcing transport companies and commercial drivers to increase charges on major routes.
In Rivers State, checks at Waterlines and Rumokoro motor parks in Port Harcourt showed that fares had gone up ahead of the celebration. Trips from Port Harcourt to Kaduna, which cost between ₦36,000 and ₦40,000 last week, now go for about ₦45,000. Transport fare from Port Harcourt to Yenagoa in Bayelsa State has also increased from ₦6,000 to ₦7,000.
A transporter at Waterlines Park said the increase was due to a slight rise in the number of passengers travelling to the North and the high cost of fuel.
“There has been a slight increase in passengers travelling to the North, and we also have to consider the cost of fuel. We are in business to make gains and not to operate at a loss,” he said.
One traveller, Bello Kabiru, who was heading to Benin, Edo State, said the fare hike was not surprising because transport costs usually rise during festive periods such as Sallah, Christmas and Easter.
Another resident, Sadiq Hassan, said he had planned to travel to Sokoto for the celebration but abandoned the trip because he could no longer afford the fare.
“Anywhere I stay, I will still observe the Eid-el-Adha prayers and celebrate like those at home,” he said.
A driver with one of the major transport companies in Rivers State, Amadi Pedro, however, said passenger turnout this year was lower than in previous festive periods.
In Borno State, some passengers at Tashan Joni, an unofficial motor park on the outskirts of Maiduguri, said they now board trailers and cargo trucks to reduce travel expenses.
One of the passengers, Ashir Bala, said he decided to travel to Gaya for Sallah but could not afford the fares at the regular motor park.
“I made up my mind to travel to Gaya town, but when I went to Tasha Kano Motor Park, the transport fare was too exorbitant. A saloon Mercedes-Benz costs ₦25,000 while a Hummer bus costs ₦16,000.
“A friend who overheard me complaining about the cost advised me to come here, and guess how much I paid? ₦3,000,” he said.
Another passenger, Sadiku Ruwaya, said he regularly uses Tashan Joni because it is cheaper, though travelling in trailers is uncomfortable.
“I will only pay ₦3,000 or ₦4,000 at most from Maiduguri to Kano. I deliberately planned to begin my journey tomorrow so that we can arrive on Sallah day. I want to surprise my parents,” he said.
A National Union of Road Transport Workers official, Abdullahi Danliti, said the park mainly serves low-income passengers, adding that some truck drivers even give passengers free rides and rarely collect more than ₦5,000 from those travelling to Kano, Zaria or Kaduna.
He, however, noted that the Federal Road Safety Corps usually clamps down on drivers who allow passengers to ride on top of cargo trucks because of accident risks.
In Katsina State, commercial vehicle operators also complained of low passenger turnout. At Ammani Private Motor Park, a bus owner, Hadi Magaji, said fewer people were travelling to Kaduna and Kano compared to previous Sallah periods.
He said the park had adopted a new loading system, where one vehicle is filled at a time instead of separating buses from smaller cars, to reduce waiting time for passengers.
Transport fares from Katsina to Kano have also increased. Smaller vehicles now charge between ₦6,000 and ₦7,000, up from ₦4,000 to ₦5,000, while bus fares now range from ₦4,000 to ₦5,000 instead of the previous ₦3,000 to ₦3,500.
A traveller, Hassan Musa, said he had waited for almost two hours for a vehicle to fill up.
“There are no passengers; people are not travelling this year. If it were before, vehicles would be leaving this park almost every hour,” he said.
In Kano, Sallah travel continued despite the high fares. At Dorayi Babba Motor Park in Rijiyar Zaki, passengers were seen waiting for vehicles, though the number of travellers was lower than usual.
The fare from Kano to Zamfara has risen from ₦7,000 to about ₦12,000, while passengers heading to Sokoto and Kebbi said an additional ₦3,000 had been added to fares.
Drivers blamed the increase on fuel prices and the difficulty of getting return passengers from states such as Kebbi and Zamfara.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has directed the immediate reopening of all sections of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Road currently under construction to ease movement during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
The Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, gave the directive to the contractor handling the project, Infiouest Nigeria Limited, saying the move was necessary to reduce gridlock and ensure smoother travel on one of the country’s busiest highways.
Umahi also assured travellers that security agencies had been deployed along critical sections of the road to manage traffic and respond to emergencies.
Similarly, the Federal Road Safety Corps advised motorists travelling along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway to use the Kachia-Bwari alternative route following heavy congestion caused by festive travel, road construction and rainfall.
The Kaduna Sector Commander, Andrew Longkam, said the Nasarawa Azara stretch between Katari and Jere remained the most affected area, with slow traffic and long delays.
