Airfare prices have been on the upward swing lately, rising to 19 per cent in one year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated in its latest report released at the weekend.
In the report titled: “Transport Fare Watch for April 2024,” the NBS said on a year-on -year basis, the fare rose by 19.00% from N74,947.30 in April 2023.
The document said air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes’ single journey, was N89,189.19 in April 2024, showing an increase of 0.25% compared to the previous month (March 2024).
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NBS said the average transport fare paid on motorcycle transportation popularly known as okada was N476.49 in April 2024 which increased by 0.92% when compared with the value recorded in March 2024 (N472.16).
The data noted that on a year-on-year basis, the fare increased by 3.07% when compared with April 2023 (N462.29).
The Bureau said for water transport (waterway passengers), the average fare paid in April 2024 increased to N1,385.95 from N1,384.32 which indicates an increase of 0.12% on monthly basis.
The document said on a year-on-year basis, it increased by 34.45% from N1,030.83 in April 2023.
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The Bureau noted that Transport Fare Watch for April 2024 covers 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.
NBS said the average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop declined to 0.16% from N969.32 in March 2024 to N967.76 in April 2024.
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It further said “On a year-on year basis, it rose by 49.32% from N648.12 in April 2023. In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop was N7,122.57 in April 2024, indicating a decline of 0.43% on a month-on-month basis compared to N7,152.97 in March 2024. On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 78.31% from N3,994.51 in April 2023.”