Transport workers in Oyo State have increased inter-state transportation fares, leaving many commuters and students stranded, especially those returning to their various campuses after the New Year celebrations.
The fare hike, which began over the weekend, saw prices shoot up by 40% to 60%, depending on the route. A trip from Ibadan to Lagos that previously cost ₦3,500 now goes for ₦7,000 while Ibadan to Abuja has jumped also
At the popular Iwo Road and Challenge parks, students expressed their frustration.
“I’ve been here since 6 a.m. hoping to get a cheaper bus, but everything is too expensive. I might not return to school today,” said Tolu Adebayo, a student of the University of Ilorin.
“This is unfair. We are just managing to survive on campus, and now transporters want to frustrate us before we even get there,” added Mariam Bello, a student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti.
Many lamented that they were not informed ahead of the hike and had budgeted based on old prices. Some students had to call family members for urgent transfers, while others turned back, postponing their journeys.
Thepage observes that transport workers has no reasons for the increase. Meanwhile, students are calling on the Oyo State Government, Oyo state park management system chairman ,student unions, and regulatory bodies to urgently intervene and protect them from further hardship.
Efforts to reach the park management system chairman Alhaji Omolewa Tomiwa popularly known as Tommy is not going through as time of filling this report.
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