Following the Christmas and New Year festivities, travelers are contending with high transport fares as they begin to return to their bases ahead of full resumption of business on Monday.
Travelers are being made to pay through the nose by private road transport operators.
This is despite the free train ride and 50 per cent discount on bus fares offered by the federal government for travellers to and from different parts of the country and the slash in fuel prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery in the spirit of the period.
Our correspondents report that intra city transport fares are also still high.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Adeleye Adeoye told The Nation yesterday that the Federal Government’s initiative was a huge success.
Travelers accused road transport operators of deliberately making life tough for commuters who must find the money to go back to their bases.
Many of those who travelled to the South East from Lagos and the North in particular have had to resort to night buses for their return trip to save cost.
This is particularly so at Milverton, Aba which is a terminal for major commercial transport companies.
For instance, Aba to Abuja by Sienna car which normally costs ₦35,000 now costs ₦50,000, while Abuja by Hummer bus now hovers between ₦35,000 and ₦60,000 from N25,000.
Passengers from Aba to Lagos pay between ₦55,000 and ₦57,000 while the night bus is ₦30,500 and ₦60,000 to Abuja.
Lagos to Aba before Christmas was ₦36,500 per head.
Sources at the park said the fares would even increase by next week when more holiday makers are expected to return to their businesses.