By Moses Akaigwe
Both the teeming passengers who benefitted from the 50 percent fare slash on long distance routes during the just ending Christmas/ New Year season, and the luxury bus owners that provided the transport services, have commended President Bola Tinubu for the gesture.
The palliative form the Presidency, which was for long distance road transport passengers, ended on Sunday, January 5.
However, days before the offer lapsed, there was an increase in the number of scheduled trips by luxury bus operators on the Lagos-southeast and Lagos-southsouth routes..
Making this public in a press statement, the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON), said the measure was in response to the complaints of inadequate number of trips to address the upsurge in passenger turnout on the affected routes..
The rise in patronage followed the implementation of the 50 percent fare discount by the luxury bus transporters on inter-state travels as approved by President Tinubu.
The press statement issued by the ALBON President, Mr. Nonso Ubajaka and the Honorary Secretary, Mr. Frank Nneji, disclosed that the Lagos-southeast and Lagos-southsouth routes in particular, had been witnessing an unprecedented demand for tickets since the implementation commenced. .
For instance, only a few days into the implementation of the fair discount at the popular Oshodi Transport Interchange (OTI) Terminal 1 in Lagos, there was an increase in the frequency of luxury bus departures as Lagosians took advantage of fare palliative to travel to various destinations for the Yuletide season.
At the well lit Terminal 1 on Saturday, December 28, it was discovered that more people preferred to travel with the night buses as passengers thronged the various luxury bus transport companies’ booths to obtain their tickets at half the current fares.
Our reporter witnessed a huge crowd of travellers at the Oshodi terminal who jostled and queued to obtain the rebate tickets even as others positioned their luggages for loading ahead of boarding.
The buses offering the special fares bore banners with bold inscriptions informing travellers that the gesture was a “Presidential Palliative” passed through the luxury bus owners’ umbrella body.
It was, however, observed that despite large presence of intending passengers at the terminal, there was no stampede or breakdown of law and order as earlier reported by some online fake news platforms.
Checks at the various ticket booths even on Sunday morning showed that a discounted fare of N23,500, which is half of the current N47,000 was being collected from the intending passengers for trips to eastern destinations like Onitsha, Owerri and Umuahia.
The high demand for the cheaper tickets led to a situation where intending travellers thronged the terminal hours ahead of night departures, while many others spend the night there to be able to pay for the discounted fare and board the early morning buses.
Some of the member-companies of the Association of the Luxury Bus Association of Nigeria (ALBON) seen selling the rebate tickets at the terminal included Evergreen Express, Okeyson Transport, Ifeanyichukwu Transport, Izu Chukwu Transport, God Bless Ezenwata and Gobison Transport.
Just before departure that Saturday night, some of the passengers on board an Evergreen luxury bus going to Aba who paid N23,500 each, expressed their gratitude to President Tinubu for the fare palliative.
One of them who gave his name as Anthony Uba, said, “This is the best Christmas gift anyone can get. I had given up hope of travelling home this season due to the high fares until I heard that the luxury bus transporters are partnering with the Federal Government to sell tickets at half the prices.”
Similarly, some excited Aba-bound passengers on board an Okeyson luxury bus confirmed that they benefited from the 50 percent discount, and thanked the President for subsidising Christmas season travels through the luxury bus transporters.
While an Izu Chukwu bus was seen departing to Asaba, another one belonging to Ezenwata was boarding Aba passengers – all of whom were visibly excited that they could benefit from the “Tinubu’s palliative.”
However, while expressing their gratitude to the Federal Government for relieving them of the burden of high transport fares at a time of economic difficulties in Nigeria, most of them appealed for an extension of the January 5, 2025 end date, even as others hoped for a similar gesture during the 2025 Christmas season.
“I am happy that I am travelling with my children with the 50 percent tickets. The President has done well, and pray he does it again next Christmas, so that poor people can travel home to meet their destinations,” said a Gobison passenger, who disclosed that he and his family were also beneficiaries in 2023.
The leadership of ALBON had before the end of the palliative commended President Tinubu for approving the subsidy on Yuletide trips, which, they said, had brought relief to the travelling public who had been burdened by the prevailing high fares occasioned by rising costs of bus maintenance.