The increase in the price of petrol from the range of N185 per litre to about N600 in the past eight weeks is changing the dynamics of transportation in Benin City, the Edo State capital, as taxi drivers are showing a preference for smaller vehicles which give them a higher chance of turning a profit amid a crushing economic crunch.

Many taxi drivers are selling off their bigger vehicles which consume more petrol to buy smaller, more fuel-efficient ones, according to some taxi drivers who spoke to The Nigerian Observer. Consequently, the cost of smaller vehicles is rising.

To add to this, persons who commute by taxi are also showing a preference for smaller taxis in the belief that by so doing, they can get to their destinations at lower costs.

This is because the smaller, fuel-efficient cars give the drivers the advantage of lower operational costs and higher profits.

Following on this, the smaller taxis are busier doing brisk business, while the bigger ones often stay idle waiting for passengers.

Many taxi drivers with bigger vehicles such as the Mercedes Benz and Audi, with between 1.8 and 2.0 litre engine capacities, are selling off their vehicles and switching to smaller cars, especially the Toyota Yaris, which typically comes with 1.3 litre engines and consumes significantly less fuel.

The Toyota Yaris, according to autoabc.eu, goes 17.1 kilometres per litre of petrol when new and the fuel efficiency level reduces with age.

On the other hand, the Mercedes Benz C Class 200 goes 7 kilometres per litre of petrol when new and fuel efficiency reduces with age, according to cartrade.com.

These market dynamics came into play following the removal of subsidy on petrol by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023 when he was sworn into office.

“Before the removal of the fuel subsidy, I would buy between N5,000 and N6,000 worth of petrol per day, which was 27 and 32 litres,” Mr. Osahon Aiyeki, a taxi driver at Oba Market, Ring Road Park in Benin City, who drives a Mercedes Benz ‘C Class’, told our reporters.

“But as at today, I use a minimum of N12,000 which is 20 litres. Yesterday (Tuesday, 7th August) I bought N14,000 worth of fuel, which is 23 litres,” he said.

Aiyeki compared the smaller cars to when one uses the small power-generating set known in Nigeria as ‘I pass my neighbour’, which can only power a television, fan and light bulb.

“It certainly takes less fuel than the much bigger generator which will carry your television as well as your fridge and freezer,” he said.

Speaking further, Aiyeki said it was difficult for the big cars to compete with the dominant Yaris drivers because the latter can offer lower charges to passengers than the drivers of bigger cars.

“The passengers will still want to pay the same old price they had been paying before the subsidy removal. Sometimes, they might add N300 or N500 to what they had been paying before. But that does not cover costs.

“Since I came in the morning, I have not left this place, I have not carried any passengers. The passengers coming just want to face Yaris because they feel Yaris is cheaper, but it is about the same thing and that is an advantage on the part of the Yaris because even if you are hustling, sometimes they [passengers] just leave you and walk up to a Yaris driver,” he said.

Another taxi driver, Mr. Julius Aigbe, who also operates from the Ring Road Park, told our reporters that the Toyota Yaris car is now the preferred choice of most taxi drivers because of its fuel efficiency.

Aigbe said a friend of his sold his Toyota Camry car and bought a Toyota Yaris, which is much smaller, so as to save money on petrol.

“Before now he was driving a Toyota Camry. With the Toyota Camry, he was spending N12,000 on petrol per day, but since he bought the Toyota Yaris, he spends between N5,000 and N6,000 per day on petrol, which is much less and allows him to have more profit. So, the fuel consumption for Yaris is actually very low,” he said.

Meanwhile, the cost of the Toyota Yaris has climbed from just over N1 million initially to around N3 million currently.

The Nigerian Observer gathered that the vehicles are mostly bought on hire purchase and that the drivers pay between N20,000 and N25,000 weekly until they pay up the full cost. The cost is, however, significantly lower when paying for the car outright.