According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the average airfare paid by passengers in Nigeria rose by up to 34% in May 2023.
This information was provided by the NBS in its Transport Fare Watch Report for the relevant month, which was made public on Tuesday in Abuja.
In May, Kebbi State charged N80,000 as the highest air transportation fee (for specific routes, single travels).
The next highest average price paid by air travellers for a single trip on the given routes was N79,050 in Bayelsa, while N69,800 was reported in Abia. This rise in average cost occurred dramatically within a year.
The NBS said the fare rose annually from N55,906,86 in May 2022 to N74,948,78 in May 2023.
Yet, it omitted to explain the causes of the large increase in flight costs throughout the time period under consideration.
Nonetheless, the NBS said that experts have linked changing aviation fuel prices and a lack of foreign currency to the high costs of travel in general.
The NBS reported that the average price paid by air travellers for a single voyage on the identified routes grew by 0.002% month over month from N74,947.30 in April 2023 to N74,948.78 in May 2023.
The NBS study states that the May 2023 Transport Fare Watch includes bus trips inside the city per change in normal route.
Moreover, it addresses the cost of an interstate bus trip (on a state route), a single flight on a specific route, a motorbike trip (on an Okada), and the transportation of passengers by water.
According to the data, the average fare commuters pay for city bus trips grew by 0.23 per cent in May, from N648.12 to N649.59.
According to the NBS, on an annual basis, the average fare increased from N581.79, which was reported during the same quarter in May 2022, by 11.66%.
In a different category, the NBS reported that passengers spent an average of N4,002.16 in May for each intercity bus drop.
According to the NBS, “this is a growth of 0.19 percent month over month compared to the N3,994.51 reported in April.”
According to the NBS, the bus price increased by 9.09% from N3,668.64 in May of the previous year on an annual basis.
A similar observation was made in the study, which said that the average fare for motorbike transportation in May was N464.55, an increase of 0.49 per cent from the rate seen in April (N462.29).
According to the study, “on an annual basis, the fare increased by 11.30% compared with the amount in May 2022, which was N417.39.”
According to the report, the average rate for water transport (passenger transit on waterways) in May was N1,045.15, up 1.39 per cent from N1,030.83 in April.
Also, the rate jumped 10.99% year over year from N941.63 in May last year.
