|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
… as Ambode finally approves fare increase
After months of persistent push and lobbying of the government to raise their fares, operators of the LAGBUS and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems are set Monday to unveil new fares on their various routes.
It could not be ascertained, however, at the weekend, the percentage increase to be announced by the operators. Primero Transport Services Limited, operator of the BRT system, currently charges N75 (Ikorodu to Mile 12); N120 (Ikorodu to Fadeyi) and N195 (Ikorodu to CMS).
It was learnt that the Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode finally gave approval for the fare increase following the persistency of the operators.
“Having looked at the merit of the argument of the operators, “Ambode has finally approved fare increase for them. The new fares will be jointly unveiled to the public through the media on Monday (today) by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) and the operators themselves,” said a government source on Friday.
The transporters since last year had been talking to the state government to raise their fares, citing increasing operational cost, which they linked to price of diesel, spare parts, high exchange rate, and fleet maintenance.
Fola Tinubu, managing director of Primero Transport Services Limited, operator of the BRT system, recently said they run the risk of going out of business if the fares remained the same, noting that with the current fare, the company was subsidising passengers on board its fleets. The company, which began operations in November 2015, runs air-conditioned buses on Ikorodu-Ojota-Maryland-Stadium-CMS route.
“We have to increase our fares because of the situation in the country. Our cost has gone through the roof. At this time last year, we bought 1.2 million litres of diesel monthly at N120 per litre, we are now buying at N260; tyres that cost N70,000 each now go for N140,000.
“All the parts used for the buses are imported so they’ve all doubled or tripled in price; and we have no choice but to continue to buy them.
“In doing that we have to find a way to make it work because you all know that the buses were bought in China; so, we have a foreign dollar component in our debt portfolio. When we bought the buses it was N168 to a US dollar and now we are talking of N500 and we still have to pay the dollar component back.
“So, our debt has increased, but we have managed to keep the pricing same for now. The increase is going to be something manageable for people. I will try not to put a figure to that now because the governor still has to approve it, and I don’t want to pre-empt him. “What I can, however, say is that it’s going to be a marginal increase,” Tinubu had said.
