Lagos BRT fares to be increased — ‘because of the situation in Nigeria’

The Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme has announced plans to “marginally” hike its fares on all routes as from February.

Fola Tinubu, managing director of Primero Transport Services, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday.

He said the hike was as a result of the increase in the cost of operations.

“We are going to increase our price because of the situation in the country, our cost has just gone through the roof,” Tinubu said.

“At this time last year, we bought 1.2 million litres of diesel monthly at N120 per litre, we are now buying at N260; tires that cost N70,000 each now go for N140,000.

“All the parts used for the buses are imported so they’ve all doubled or tripled in price, and we have no choice but to continue to buy them.

“So, in doing that we have to find a way to make it work because you all know that the buses were bought in China; so, we have a foreign dollar component in our debt portfolio.

Since its inception in 2015, the company has maintained a fare of N75, N120, and N195 from Ikorodu to Mile 12, Fadeyi, and CMS, respectively.

“When we bought the buses it was N168 to a US dollar and now we are talking of N470 and we still have to pay the dollar component back.

“So, our debt has increased and our cost of operation has gone through the roof, and we have managed to keep the pricing same for now.

“In fact, right now, we are subsidising every person we carry, and if you are running a business, you can only do that for so long.’’

“The airlines have increased theirs between 200 per cent and 300 per cent but we will not even do 100 per cent.

“So, it is going to be something manageable for people. I will try not to put a figure to that now because the governor still has to approve it, and I don’t want to pre-empt him.

“What I can say is that it’s going to be a marginal increase and not a drastic increase and still less than what the commercial bus operators are charging right now.

“We are not even going to be close to that; but there is no other solution to it because if we do not, it is going to be recipe for disaster down the road,” Tinubu said.