Passengers traveling by road to various cities
in the country have been told to brace up for
an increase in fares effective September 19,
2016. The transporters under the aegis of
Association of Private Transport Company
Owners of Nigeria (APTCON) made the
announcement in a recent notice to its
members.
The group said that it was constrained to
mark up transport fares by 40 per cent
because of the prevailing harsh operating
business environment which has seen cost of
operations rise by more than 80 per cent.
The association’s secretariat noted that it was
compelled to implement the increase as the
local economy was showing no signs of
stability while international transactions were
becoming increasingly difficult to close.
“As we are all aware, the global economy is
currently facing a downturn that has greatly
affected most countries in the world. As an
industry, we are not exempt from the crisis as
in recent months, our operating costs have
risen significantly”, the group stated.
It would be recalled that luxury bus owners
(Association Luxurious Buses owners of
Nigeria, LUBAN) had earlier announced an
increase in bus fares by 35 per cent for all
their routes effective June 10, 2016.
APTCON lamented that the biggest challenges
facing its members were the price of fuelling,
cost of spare parts for vehicle maintenance,
unit cost of buses, diesel costs for powering
terminals, Value Added Taxes (VAT) as well as
increase in bank interest rates.
“These identified increments, to name but a
few, have taken a significant toll on the
revenue of private transport company owners
across Nigeria”, the statement noted.
The group also noted that many of its
members have expressed their inability to pay
salaries much less run profitably, while some
others have had to shut down operations
completely.linda ikeji
0 comments: