The festive period is here again, as many Nigerians have either travelled or will be travelling to celebrate Christmas with their family members. It is the time of the year that most communities hold annual get-together parties, age-group meetings, traditional sporting events, cultural festivals, among others.
As most people will be travelling by road, which is the most affordable means of transportation to majority of Nigerians, Nigerian Observer went around the city to collate transport fares from Benin City to different parts of the country, and from different states back to Benin City.
The provision of this information is necessary due to the surge in the pump prices of fuel, especially Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) otherwise known as diesel, and Premium Motor Spirit or petrol. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), within a year, the price of a litre of diesel rose by 191 percent from N277.83 a litre in November 2021 to N808.87 a litre in November 2022.
Also, the price of a litre of PMS rose from N167.60 in November 2021 to N202.48 a litre in November 2022. In fact, as fuel scarcity worsens, price of a litre of PMS is sold for as high as N260 a litre, according to information provided by transporters.
The Nigerian Observer visited the offices of Lamb of God Transport Services, Bob IZUA Motors, God is Good, and Muyi Line so that travellers could have information about transport fares to different parts of the country. Only the Muyi Line did not respond to our request.
Lamb of God Transport Services operates on the Benin to Lagos route. From Benin City to Lagos costs N4,500 while from Lagos to Benin City costs N6,700.
Bob IZUA Motors operates on Port Harcourt, Bayelsa, Warri and Abraka routes. From Benin City to Port Harcourt costs N6000, and back to Benin City is N5000. From Benin City to Bayelsa is N4000, and back to Benin City is N3500.
From Benin City to either Warri or Abraka is N1500 while the journey from either of them back to Benin City is N1000 each.
God is Good(GIG) operates on the Benin City to Lagos route, and back to Benin City, as well as from Benin City to Abuja and back to Benin City.
From Benin City to Lagos is N9000. The same price is charged from Lagos to Benin City. From Benin City to Abuja is N12,000. Same price is charged from Abuja to Benin City.
On the factors that they considered before charging a particular amount as fare, all of them attributed the development to fuel scarcity, and state of Nigerian roads.
