Commuters, across the country, particularly those in major cities, have bemoaned the increase in transportation fares as the new petroleum pump price enters third day.
An Enugu resident, Hope Onyekachi, said she could not believe the transportation fare could increase so suddenly.
She said the new policy caught her unawares and had made it difficult for her to attend programmes she earlier planned for aside her official duties.
“I paid N350 to get to New Haven junction as against its previous price of N250, this time around, one has to plan well and manage the little money he or she has to avoid embarrassment,” she said.
Sunday Okwu, a court clerk, said he paid N300 to get to his office in the morning as against N250, adding that on his way home he paid N350 from WAEC bus stop to Garki.
According to him, it will lead to frustration among Nigerians and it is not a good omen.
Some FCT primary pupils and secondary school students were seen stranded at various bus stops yesterday over hike in transport fare. Some of them had to resort to begging motorists and other passengers to ease their burden.
At the Durumi AP filling station junction where passengers often board vehicles, school children were seen sitting by the roadside for inability to pay their transport fares.
A student, who identified herself as Aishatm, said from the junction to her school, she used to pay N100, but the commercial drivers now charge as much as N300.
She called on the Federal Government to quickly intervene by providing palliatives to help reduce their burden, adding that most of her colleagues might not attend school due to the hike.
Another student, John Aina, claimed he used to pay N200 from the same junction to his school before subsidy removal, but now had to part with N500 to get to school. Also, some of the students were spotted stranded at the Lugbe Airport road due to hike in fare.
Another student, who identified himself as Uche, said to get to his school from Lugbe Airport road to Government Secondary School, Garki, it used to cost N200, but the subsidy removal has increased to N500.
He also called on the government to look at the plight of students and urgently come to their aid by cushioning the effect of the subsidy removal on students.
President Bola Tinubu had on May 29 announced that the country could no longer sustain the subsidy regime, saying “subsidy is gone.”