Lagos and Nasarawa states have recorded the highest average prices for bus journeys within the city, per drop constant route in October 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) transport fare watch.
The report showed that Lagos recorded the highest fare with N1,405.85 per bus journey within the city, followed by Nasarawa state with N1,326.77 and Kwara state with N1,300.01.
Ifeanyi, a bus driver in Lagos, recently told BusinessDay that the rising transport fares are driven not just by fuel costs but by the sharp increase in vehicle parts, maintenance, daily extortion payments, and union levies.
Read also: Transport fares soar in North despite petrol price cut
He said that the heavy financial burden of daily payments to touts, unions, and multiple security checkpoints along the road contributes to the surge in fares.
The report also showed that Abia state, Adamawa state, and Kano state had the lowest average price with N548.44, N631.44, and N810.03, respectively.
The NBS transport fare watch report covered bus journeys within the city per drop constant route, bus journey intercity (state route) charge per person, air fare charge for specified routes single journey, journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop, and waterway passenger transport.
“The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased to 0.90 percent from N1,049.17 in September 2025 to N1,058.64 in October 2025. On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 16.57 percent from N908.15 in October 2024,” the report stated.
In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for an intercity bus journey per drop was N8,170.21 in October 2025, indicating an increase of 1.55 percent on a month-on-month basis compared to N8,045.59 in September 2025. On a year-on-year basis, the fare increased by 13.67 percent from N7,197.62 in October 2024.
Read also: Lagos transport fare surge 60% amid drop in fuel prices
In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for a single journey was N131,557.53 in October 2025, showing an increase of 1.32 percent compared to the previous month, September 2025. On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 4.17 percent from N126,293.05 in October 2024.
The average transport fare paid on Okada transportation was N780.00 in October 2025, which shows an increase of 5.74 percent when compared with the value recorded in September 2025, N737.63. On a year-on-year basis, the fare increased by 45.53 percent when compared with October 2024, N535.98.
For waterway passenger transportation, the average fare paid was N1,851.28, which indicates an increase of 3.11 percent on a monthly basis. On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 25.25 from N1,478.09 in October 2024.
