By Bliss Okperan
The air travel fares increased by 7.6 per cent on a year-on-year basis to N78,778 in October 2023 from N73.198 in October 2022, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.
In its Transport Fare Watch for October 2023 released on Tuesday, the agency also said, “In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes for a single journey was N78,778.38 in October 2023, showing a decrease of 0.30 per cent compared to the previous month (September 2023),” adding that, “On a year-on-year (YoY); basis, the fare rose by 7.62 per cent from N73,198.65 in October 2022.
NBS further said, “For water transport (waterway passenger transportation), the average fare paid in October 2023 decreased to N1,395.68 from N1,406.84 which indicates a contraction of 0.79 per cent on a monthly basis.”
It was also revealed that transport fares paid by commuters declined in all modes of journey despite the MoM increase in diesel and fuel prices by 12.82 per cent and 0.71 per cent, respectively during the review period.
“The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop declined by 16.48 per cent from N1,337.80 in September to N1,117.30 in October 2023.
Further, the NBS said, “The average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop declined to N5,885.68 in October 2023, indicating a decline of 0.53 per cent on a MoM basis compared to N5,917.16 in September 2023.
“The average transport fare paid on Okada transportation was N507.30 in October 2023 which was a 21.51 per cent decrease when compared with the value recorded in September 2023 (N646.29).”
“On a YoY basis, the fare rose by 10.75 per cent when compared with October 2022 (N458.05).”
Adedapo Adesanya 
Modupe Gbadeyanka