Lagos commuters have decried the recent 13% hike in the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and standard routes fares, stating that it will further strain their daily transport budget.
They described the hike as an additional financial burden amid rising living costs, stating that it would squeeze their already tight pockets even as public transportation is meant to be free.
Several argued that public transportation should be heavily subsidised, insisting that government-run mass transit is meant to ease, not deepen, cost pressures on ordinary citizens.
Funmi Taiwo, a Speech Therapist, who frequents the Abulegba to Obalende routes, told BusinessDay that it’s unfair for the Government to reduce even the small benefits available to citizens.
Taiwo noted that while salaries remain stagnant, fares are increasing, and such changes should be announced in advance, as most people are unaware and need time to adjust their budgets.
“It’s unfair that the little they can enjoy from the government, they want to take it away”, she said.
A regular commuter on the Ikeja to Island routes, who simply gave his name as Alex, described the fare hike as unfair, given the stagnant wages of most workers in the State.
“This is unfair to us. We are going through a lot,” he said.
Gbedeola Jide, a lawyer, who moves from Meran to get to the BRT at Abulegba to Obalende, said the government should heavily subsidised transportation to ease the burden of struggling Nigerians.
Jide noted that transport is essential for moving people and goods, and fare hikes reduce comfort and affordability, showing a lack of concern for the needs of ordinary Nigerians.
Tomi Azeez, a regular BRT commuter, said she was surprised and frustrated by the fare hike, noting that the buses are often dirty, poorly maintained, and sometimes malfunctioning.
Azeez highlighted problems with the BRT operations, including dishonest ticketers, unclean conditions, and drivers misusing amenities, adding that the increase will raise their daily transport costs per trip, but it won’t change their reliance on BRT, as they have no alternative.
Others took to their X (formerly Twitter) handle, urging the government to first work on having effective buses and reduce the number of waiting hours to get a bus, noting that there is no regulation to how the buses operate within the terminals.
“You are increasing the price when service is this poor and your buses are very bad, always leaving stranded on the road.
Do you know we suffer on the road and not to talk about the hours we spent on the terminal before getting bus, and as a loyal BRT commuter, we don’t have any benefits because we suffer,” Abigail Ozor @ozor_abigail tweeted.
