FG Plans To Crash Transportation Costs by October 1 is Facing a Serious Test
- Commuters on major Lagos routes are still paying between N1,200 and N5,000 weeks before the government's October 1 deadline
- Nigeria has converted about 120,000 vehicles to CNG since 2023, but long refuelling queues are eating into drivers' daily earnings
- Transport operators are calling on the government to clarify whether it will subsidise operating costs before fares can drop
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Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience in business journalism, with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Nigeria's government target to reduce intra-state transport fares through the adoption of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric vehicles is under pressure, with fares on several busy routes around Lagos showing no sign of falling ahead of the October 1 deadline.
Checks show commuters travelling from Sango-Ota to Oshodi are paying between N1,500 and N1,700, while those on the Atan-Ota to Abule-Egba or Agege corridor pay N1,200 to N1,500.
Source: Getty Images
The Sango-Abeokuta trip costs about N2,000, and passengers heading from Ojodu Berger to Ibadan pay roughly N2,500, with fares to Oyo reaching N5,000, Leadership reports.
Commuter Bolu Adegbite, who travels daily between Toll-Gate and Abule-Egba, said the buses she uses are mostly CNG-powered, yet fares have not budged.
Another commuter, Adebayo Ojo, said he paid N500 from Iyana-Ipaja to Oshodi, identical to what petrol-powered buses charge on the same route.
CNG Savings Yet to Reach Passengers
The government says the lower cost of running CNG vehicles should bring ticket prices down, but transport operators argue fares cannot fall without direct support.
Isiaka Apena, chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers' Ikeja branch, said a driver currently charging N1,500 could bring that down to N1,000 if the government covered N500 of operating costs.
He urged authorities to clarify whether buses would be provided or whether a portion of operating expenses would be subsidised.
Nigeria has converted about 120,000 vehicles to CNG since 2023 through roughly 400 certified conversion centres, with about 90 refuelling stations now in operation, according to the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles.
The government has also put 655 CNG buses and 5,123 CNG tricycles on the road.
Source: Getty Images
Government Says States Will Lead Implementation
Tosin Coker, chief operating officer of the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicles, said the government's goal is for lower CNG running costs to produce real savings for commuters.
He added that delivery would happen at state level, since routes, operators and CNG infrastructure differ across the country. Coker also said the October 1 target should not be read as a single nationwide conversion deadline, and that progress would be measured by actual fare reductions rather than vehicle or station counts.
For commuters, the test remains simple: whether what they pay to reach work, school and the market actually falls before the deadline arrives.
CNG costs N380 per SCM
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigeria has licensed 81 companies to retail compressed natural gas (CNG), up from roughly four previously, as the federal government pushes to broaden access to the fuel alternative across the country.
CNG is currently priced at N380 per standard cubic metre (SCM) for cars and passenger buses, and N450 per SCM for heavy-duty vehicles and lorries.
Investment in filling stations, mobile refuelling units, and gas production facilities still needs to scale up before the policy can reach most Nigerians, Leadership reports.
Source: Legit.ng
