Sharon IKECHUKWU
While commuters once paid affordable fares for their daily journeys, the recent increase in fuel prices has pushed many to pay higher fares for transportation in Port Harcourt.
The development has left many residents struggling to cope, as transport fares have been adjusted to meet the increased cost of fuel.
Speaking on the development, a commercial tricycle driver, Mr John Ibe, who operates along the Eneka-Rumuokoro route, said the increase in fuel prices had affected his daily earnings.
“I have not eaten today, and my family is starving too. Because of the increment in fuel prices, which has led to an increase in transport fares, some people have decided to trek. This is affecting us because they no longer enter our tricycles. You can see me standing in the rain,” he said.
He also said some passengers reacted negatively when they heard about the increase in transport fares.
He said, “They will be like, ‘Is it your fault? Nigeria is hard. Well, it is not your fault. I can’t afford it; I will trek.’”
“I don’t make much profit because as soon as I buy fuel, I go to the filling station and give them all the money. At the end of the day, I go home empty-handed”.
On the grounds of anonymity, another transporter said the price of fuel was between ₦1,390 and ₦1,400 and that passengers did not accept the increased transport fares.
He said, “The normal amount of fuel that takes me going and coming is no longer the same. I spend up to ₦35,000 to ₦40,000 to buy fuel in a day.”
Another commercial tricycle driver, Egbuchi Michael, who spoke with our correspondent, explained that one of the challenges caused by the increase in fuel prices was the reduction in the number of passengers .
“Passengers are no longer coming out to patronize us. As the fuel price increased, we also increased transport fares. We are not seeing many passengers.”
“The place we used to run for ₦50 is now ₦150. Because of that, many of them are trekking. As you can see, we have been here for a long time. Before, there was nothing like a line. I am a keke driver. Before, passengers would be waiting because it was ₦50 and ₦100, but it is now ₦200,” he said.
“So, for now, we are not making it at all because the account of keke is now ₦15,000 instead of about ₦10,000 because of how costly things have become.”
“What I want to say to the government is that they should find a way to remove the subsidy because we are not even seeing where the money from the subsidy is going. They should use the money from the subsidy to support other things like food items so that things will come down.”
Findings from interviews with transport operators have shown that the increase in fuel prices has affected both commuters and transport operators.
Transporters now spend more on fuel and operating expenses, while commuters are faced with increased transport fares.
The rise in fuel prices has also affected the movement of residents who depend on commercial transportation for their daily activities.
The situation has therefore increased calls for measures to reduce the impact of rising fuel prices on transport operators and commuters.
