Some main motor parks in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, had fewer passengers on Friday, despite the expected Easter holiday rush.
A visit by the News Agency of Nigeria to motor parks at Iwo Road and Ojoo Bus Terminals showed that there was no increase in inter-state travel.
The Chairman of Saki Motor Park, Mr Michael Adelokun, mentioned that the number of buses traveling from the park to different destinations was much lower than anticipated.
He noticed that there were fewer passengers traveling compared to before.
“People are not coming out as much because of a lack of money, even though the transportation costs have not been raised. A trip to Saki costs N3,000, while a car ride is N3,500.
“These prices have remained the same for a long time despite the tough economy,” he said.
He pointed out that the rising cost of petrol and car maintenance was becoming a burden on their business earnings.
Adelokun stated that the cost of engine oil had increased from about N3,500 and N4,000 to N16,000.
“The same goes for the cost of tires, which had gone up from between N28,000 and N30,000 to N65,000.
“Because of the overall low purchasing power of Nigerians, it is hard to raise transport fares in the midst of skyrocketing prices of goods and services,” he said.
Additionally, the Secretary of Park Management System, Iwo Road Motor Park, Mr Isahu Salawu, mentioned that people stayed home because they needed to manage their spending.
He said that the lack of financial strength had negatively impacted their business, making festive periods appear ordinary at the parks.
Salawu criticized the high cost of petrol and other expenses in the transportation system, and despite all this, fares did not increase.
“We have kept the transportation fare the same so as not to add to the burden of passengers as we are all struggling in this economy,” he said.
A passenger, Mr Tafa Alaba, however, mentioned that the fare to Iseyin had gone up from between N1,300 and N1,500 to N1,700.
Despite the slight increase, which he said was manageable, he concluded that not many people still thought it wise to travel as they used to.
A passenger heading to Lagos for the Easter holiday, Miss Tobiloba Samuel, said the fare of N2,500 for buses and N3,600 for cars rose to N3,600 and N4,100 respectively.
NAN observed that the usual excitement and busy atmosphere during festive periods in motor parks were absent.
NAN
