By Hosea parah, Abuja

The National Bureau of Statistics Watch for November 2022 on transport fare has drastically increased compared to November 2021, On a year-on-year, the air fare has rose by 97.90% from N37,022.97 in November 2021 to N73,267.57 in November 2022. In air travels fare, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey, increased by 0.09% on a month-on-month from N73,198.65 in October 2022 to N73,267.57 in November 2022.

According to the report issued by NBS on Monday in Abuja said the transport fare watch for November 2022 covering the following categories: bus journey 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 water way passenger transport.

Taraba recorded the highest air transport charges (for specified routes single journeys) with N77, 100.00 in October 2022, followed by Delta with N76,500.00.

The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 0.12% in November 2022 on a month-on-month from N636.30 in October 2022 to N637.10. While on a year-on-year, however, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop rose by 42.69% from N446.50 in November 2021.

The report stated that, in another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N3,848.48 in November 2022 indicating an increase of 0.07% on a month-on-month compared to the value of N3,845.81 in October 2022. On a year-on-year, the fare prices rose by 45.53% from N2,644.50 in November 2021.

“The average transport fare paid on Okada transportation was N459.02 in November 2022 which was 0.12% higher than the rate recorded in October 2022 (N458.05) on a month-on-month basis. While on a year-on-year, the fare rose by 45.13% when compared with November 2021 (N316.29). Whereas the average fare paid for water transport (waterway passenger transportation) in November 2022 increased to N1,006.33. showing an increase of 16.66% on a year-on-year basis from N862.60 in November 2021 and 0.21% on a month-onmonth from N1,006.22 in October 2022.

The report stated that, at the state level the bus journey within the city (per drop constant route), Taraba recorded the highest with N845.15 followed by Bauchi State with N800.10. On the other hand, Borno State recorded the least fares with N500.10 followed by Anambra with N507.15.

For intercity bus travel (state route charged per person fare) in November 2022, the highest fare was recorded in Abuja with N6,000.00 followed by Adamawa with N5,300.00. The least fares were recorded in Kwara N1,700.00 followed by Bayelsa N2,500.00.

Conversely, Niger recorded the least fare with N67,100.00. In October 2022, Kwara state had the highest motorcycle transport fare with N762.15 followed by Lagos with N700.00. The least fare was recorded in Edo with N186.12 followed by Bayelsa with N186.47.

Similarly, water transport fare was higher in Delta state with N3,300.00 followed by Rivers with N3,000.00, while the least fare was recorded in Borno with N364.10 followed by Kebbi State with N420.10.

According to the report, distribution of transport fare categories by zones shows that in November 2022, transport fares of bus journeys within the city recorded the highest in the North-East with N690.00 followed by South-South with N657.43.

While the South-West recorded the least with N594.02. In terms of bus journey intercity, the South-West had the highest fare with N4,178.57 followed by North-East with N3,968.05, while NorthWest recorded the least with N3,661.36. South-East recorded the highest fare of air transport in November 2022 with N74,500.00, followed by South-West with N74,300.00. While North-Central had the least with N71,428.57.

Also, commuters on a motorcycle (Okada) paid the highest fare in the North-Central with N523.28 followed by the South-West with N512.50, while the North-West recorded the least with N328.62.

Also the South-South zone had the highest charges paid on water transport with N2,351.03 followed by the South-West with N901.64, while North-East had the least fare with N645.70.