BRT operator announces increase in bus fares in Lagos
Lagos residents will begin to pay higher bus fare when they board Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) buses starting from February 2017.
The scheme, which was launched by former Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, to alleviate high cost of transportation for citizens, will see a hike in fares.
The development was made known by Mr Fola Tinubu, the Managing Director of Primero Transport Services, an operator of the scheme.
According to NAN, Tinubu cites increase in operational cost as a reason for the new fares which will be introduced between the end of February and early March.
“We are going to increase our price because of the situation in the country, our cost has just gone through the roof,” Tinubu said.
“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.
“So, 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 N470 and we still have to pay the dollar component back.
“So, our debt has increased and our cost of operation has gone through the roof, and we have managed to keep the pricing same for now.
“In fact, right now, we are subsidising every person we carry, and if you are running a business, you can only do that for so long.”
Tinubu said the increase was inevitable because “airlines have increased their between 200 per cent and 300 per cent but we will not even do 100 per cent.”
“So, it 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 preempt him.
“What I can say is that it’s going to be a marginal increase and not a drastic increase and still less than what the commercial bus operators are charging right now.
“We are not even going to be close to that; but there is no other solution to it because if we do not, it is going to be recipe for disaster down the road,” he added.
The company has maintained a fare of N75, N120, and N195 from Ikorodu to Mile 12, Fadeyi, and CMS, respectively, while operators of the yellow-painted commercial bus currently charge N150, N200, and N350 from Ikorodu to Mile 12, Fadeyi, and CMS, respectively.
It is still unclear what percentage of increment would be adopted by the BRT operators.
