At the Mercy of Bus Drivers

Fri, Jul 12, 2013

By publisher

3 MIN READ

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Bus passengers in Lagos groan as drivers resort to arbitrary increases in fares on rainy days

|  By Anayo Ezugwu  |  Jul. 22, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

BUS drivers in Lagos have an uncanny way of exploiting passengers on rainy days or during traffic hold up. Last week’s rainfall in Lagos gave an indication of what Lagosians should expect in days, weeks and months going by the significant increase witnessed in the cost of transportation in some parts of the state. For instance, the fare from Iyana Ipaja to Oshodi which was formerly N100 went up to N200, from Iyana Iba to Ikeja, the fare was N300 instead of N250, while passengers paid between N150 and N200 to Ikeja from Egbeda as against N100. The situation was the same on other major routes in the state.

Narrating his ordeal to Realnews, Promise Jude, a public servant, described the sudden increase in bus fare as an unexpected tax. He said that the decision to hike the fares did not go down well with many of them who work in the Lagos Island. He blamed the situation on the poor state of the roads, a situation which, he said, was exacerbated by the rains. “Many people could not go to their respective places of work in their personal vehicles and the commercial bus drivers decided to take advantage of this development to hike their fares,” he said.

Jude also said that the state government should repair the bad roads before the rains commence fully in order to put an end to indiscriminate increase of fares by commercial bus operators. A journalist, who lives in Algbado area of Lagos, said that he paid N500 from Ikeja to Algbado last week, because of the rain, a journey that costs only N200.

Kingsley Azubuike, a businessman at Balogun market, said that the rainy season has worsened the deplorable state of Badagry expressway. According to him, he pays N200 everyday from Okokomaiko to Balogun market, a journey that normally costs N70. “Since the rain started, I spend hours on the road to get to my destination. For now, we are paying between N150 and N200 to Balogun market every day. My problem is not what I spend but throughout last week, I trekked from Okokomaiko to the market because of bad road and the rain,” he said.

Ike Moeme, a commuter, said he paid N150 for a ride from Jibowu to Costain, instead of the usual N100. “I also paid N200 from Iyana Ipaja to Jibowu this morning, instead of the normal N150, and N150 from Jibbowu to Costain instead of N100. I appeal to the state government to repair the roads before rain gets heavier,” he said.

Uzorchi, a commercial driver, said that fares normally fluctuate from time to time because of heavy traffic and bad roads in some parts of Lagos. He also admitted that during the rainy season, many commercial drivers make more money than usual. “You can’t really put the whole blame on us if we increase fares after a downpour, often it is as a result of the state of the roads which often become highly unmotorable even after a little shower. If there is good road network the fee will be cheaper,” he said.