₦airaland Forum

Commuters await cheaper fares as Tinubu’s October 1 transport promise stalls

Despite the Federal Government’s October 1 target for Nigerians to begin experiencing measurable reductions in transportation costs, commuters in Lagos are yet to see any significant drop in fares, with fuel prices and daily transport costs remaining high.

President Bola Tinubu had, on September 19, said Nigerians should begin to see reductions in transportation costs from October 1, following an agreement with the 36 state governors.

He said an implementation committee had been established under the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme to identify priority transport corridors, determine appropriate interventions and put the necessary arrangements in place.

Tinubu also directed state governments to work with transport unions and commercial operators, support vehicle conversion and fleet deployment, facilitate infrastructure and ensure that savings from cheaper energy were passed on to commuters through lower fares.

The announcement came as the Federal Government expanded its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) public transport initiative, with Lagos receiving 20 additional high-capacity CNG buses on September 30, a day before the October 1 target.

The buses were handed over to the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), with its Managing Director, Abimbola Akinajo, saying the additional vehicles would increase public transport capacity and connect communities across the state.

The buses were expected to be deployed on routes with identified capacity gaps, particularly the Ikorodu-TBS corridor.


According to LAMATA, the latest delivery brought the number of CNG buses within Lagos’ regulated public transport system to about 170.

However, checks by The Guardian yesterday showed that the expected reduction in fares was not yet evident on several routes.

For instance, a trip from Ojota to Oshodi cost N1,000 on September 23, while the fare from Ojota to Toyota on the Oshodi Expressway was N1,300. The N1,300 fare was still being charged on the route yesterday.

On the Ikeja-Fagba route, commuters travelling by conventional buses paid N400 from Ikeja to Ogba and another N500 from Ogba to Fagba, bringing the total cost to N900.

Other routes monitored yesterday also showed little evidence of a fare reduction.

A trip from Cele to CMS cost about N1,500, while commuters paid another N1,500 from CMS to Oshodi. The fare from CMS to Ikotun was N1,800.

Oshodi to Obalende cost between N1,300 and N1,600, while commuters travelling from Mowe to Adeniji paid about N1,400. A trip from Adeniji to Obalende cost N500, while another N500 was charged from Obalende to the Eko Hotel roundabout.

Passengers interviewed said they were largely unaware of the promised reduction, and in some cases, did not know where to access the government-backed CNG transport services.

A passenger, simply identified as Ejiroghene, said she was unaware of the October 1 target but welcomed any move that could reduce the burden of daily transportation.

“I wasn’t aware. It would really be a good thing,” she said.

She said lower fares would provide relief for workers whose take-home pay was already being eroded by the cost of commuting.

Another passenger, Olugbenga Ade, said he had heard about the proposed reduction but was yet to see a significant change in fares.

Ade said he had also not noticed the CNG buses referred to in the government’s announcement operating on the routes he used or seen information explaining where commuters could access them.

He urged the government to provide clear information on the routes, locations and fares of the buses to enable commuters to benefit from the programme.

Commercial transport workers expressed similar concerns.

A commercial bus driver, who declined to be named, said he had heard about the government’s announcement but did not know where the CNG buses were operating or how commuters could access them.

Another driver, who also requested anonymity, said he was unaware of the planned fare reduction.

A commercial bus conductor interviewed by The Guardian equally said he had not heard about the programme.

He questioned how a major transport intervention could be implemented without adequate information reaching commuters and transport workers.

“If something like that is coming, information should already be everywhere because the buses will not hide. People are supposed to see them,” he said.

For commuters, the issue is therefore no longer simply whether CNG buses are available in Lagos, but whether they are sufficiently deployed, accessible and affordable to make a meaningful difference to everyday transportation costs.

The limited awareness among some passengers and transport workers also raises questions about how information on the new services is being disseminated and whether commuters know where and how to access them.

For workers who depend on public transport every day, the success of the initiative will ultimately be measured not by the number of buses delivered, but by how much they spend travelling to work and returning home.

Photo: CNG buses. Caption: Pi-CNG & EV Chief Operating Officer Tosin Coker (left) presenting the CNG vehicles to Lagos Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi and LAMATA MD, Abimbola Akinajo at LAMATA PLACE in Ketu-Ojota, recently

https://guardian.ng/news/nigeria/metro/commuters-await-cheaper-fares-as-tinubus-october-1-transport-promise-stalls/

Take away the thugs from extorting the bus drivers and transport prices will crash.

Tinubu is not even aware that some individuals in his government, claiming to speak for him, are making promises that Nigerians should expect lower transport fares from October 1. At this rate, people are making promises on his behalf that even he doesn’t know about.

Una go wait tire ooooooo

All
Promise
Cancel.

God help ur people.

What an irony. APC government of lies, deceit and propaganda. After of the lies of removal of fuel subsidy, provision of functional refineries, increased turnout of CNG shuttle buses, and global meltdown, the cost of petrol/fuel is still on the high side in Nigeria.

Believe Tinubu and APC at Ur own peril

I don't know how and why anyone will take tinubu serious in 2026

Someone that came out and say..."let the poor breath " .....and immediately he won election he started choking same poor masses

If Nigerians do not ensure that this punishment called Tinubu is gone in 2027, the level of hardship then will be a joke compared to this.

Tinubu must go!

It's all for campaign. Give them December, that's when we'll have cheaper fuel and we won't still vote them again

Keep waiting... The plane isn't landing anytime soon

We all know this will never work but congratulations to those who are hopeful.

Which day wey president Bola Ahmed Tinubu open hin mouth korokoro say him one reduce transport for una?

Please show me video or audio.

Wey dem Yarimo and Co. sef?

Tinubu read that speech without knowing what was inside .
How can onanuga write you a speech and you ran with it , without screening it with a lying detection machine !

False 9 Subsidy

If you know you know.

Adabrakadabra government. The more you see the less you understand.

The president should have made adequate provisions before hand. It's just so pathetic

Election promises are always empty promises...

Una go wait tire. Tinubu just dey put Nigerians on cruise

Memphis357:
Wey dem Yarimo and Co. sef?

Those shameless foes You can't see them on this kind of threads lol 😆

Another manipulation from the APC government.
Let them reduce the fare and take it back in multiple folds after they enter again.
Your guys will buy petrol for #2,000 when they eventually enter in 2027 make my words.
If they've something good to offer, why can't they scrap the thugs from the parks nation wide and be the only influence of fare as the manage other offices.

He cannot even start the cheap fare scheme from the lagos he built

You cannot trust someone even with his own words

How else can scam, incompetence and bad governance be defined?

Tueeehhh

sojayy:
Believe Tinubu and APC at Ur own peril

Election on way ..
If you don't no game you will

E be like say na everyday we go deh read this news ba ?

make una deh wait as Una too like cheap and free things .

Ofunaofu:
Tinubu is not even aware that some individuals in his government, claiming to speak for him, are making promises that Nigerians should expect lower transport fares from October 1. At this rate, people are making promises on his behalf that even he doesn’t know about.

He made it himself last month after meeting with the governors.

Atiku spoke and he reacted with a meeting with the governors

Maybe Atiku should speak again so he can be reminded that it hasn’t been done

Clowns occupying the thrones of kings.

plessis:
Take away the thugs from extorting the bus drivers and transport prices will crash.

Who would take away the thugs extorting bus drivers? Nigerians using the high way or the government?

Omo, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is worse than the devil. Devil will still give you a goat and collect human being from you but this one will give you ant and collect human beings. O maa se ooo!

People still dey put fate on this government? What a WONDER!!!

You go dy look, e go dy go

Lol