Barely 48 hours to Christmas, commuters in Edo groaned over hike in transport fares by more than 100 per cent to many destinations from Benin.
Transport fare from Benin to Makurdi, Benue, which hitherto cost N4, 000, jumped to N8, 500 as at Sunday morning.
Transport fares to Abia, Enugu and Anambra have increased from N3,000, N2,500 and N1,500 to N6,000, N5,000 and N3,500 respectively.
Some of the commuters who spoke in separate interviews with NAN in Benin wonder why the increase when there was no increase in official price of fuel or scarcity of the product in the area.
Others, however, traced the development to the usual yuletide.
A commuter, Mrs Okechi Mba, described the increase as a“desperate means by commercial drivers to exploit passengers, many of who he noted must travel home, no matter the transport cost during festive periods.
“It is just act of wickedness against their fellow human beings. How do you explain this huge increase?
“I am still confused as to the cost of travelling from here down to Aba; myself and three kids. It’s sad,” she lamented.
Mr Agbo Ogenyi, called for regulation of cost of transportation that had become a yearly affair.
Transport fare for intercity has also increased due to the increasing movement of commuters.
Benin to Auchi, Sabongida-Ora and Ekpoma increased from N1,000, N800 and N1,000 to N1,500, N1200 and N1200 respectively.
As Christmas rush begins, travellers at different transport terminals in Lagos state on Saturday lamented hike in road transport fares by operators and called on the government to put a regulatory system in place to check excesses.
TheNewsGuru (TNG) in this special report gathered that the cost of transport from Lagos to Abuja now stands at over N14,000.00, with transport line operators attributing the hike to surge.
Similarly, TNG found that fare from Lagos to Abakiliki was N11,000.00 on Saturday morning, fare from Lagos to Bayelsa and Port Harcourt was over N12,000.00.
Fares generally from the state to elsewhere in the country have more than doubled, TNG can report, and the situation is expected to worsen into last week of the year, according to operators.
“While coming from Bayelsa, we paid about N4,000.00 plus some fractions. While going back to Bayelsa now, my sister and I, we paid about N25,000.00 plus some fractions. So, you can see the difference, from about N9,000.00 both of us paid to get to Lagos just a week before now”.
With Lagos as Nigeria’s largest city, it is natural for transport terminals to be more crowded than usual with many returning home to spend Christmas with their loved ones, however, travellers were not pleased with the hike in fares.
A civil servant nursing mother, who did not wish to be named, told TNG that “there should be people that regulate fares or people that go about checkmating transporters” for excess charges, especially during festive periods.
“While coming from Bayelsa, we paid about N4,000.00 plus some fractions. While going back to Bayelsa now, my sister and I, we paid about N25,000.00 plus some fractions. So, you can see the difference, from about N9,000.00 both of us paid to get to Lagos just a week before now.
“Before now, transport fare from Lagos to Bayelsa is about N5,500.00. One person is about N12,000.00 plus now. The gap is just too much. No fuel increment about it, so its too much. We were supposed to leave here by 7:15 am, but till now, we have not boarded, and to me, that is not cool. I am sure its because of the crowd. And of course, the increase in fares is too much.
“There should be people that regulate fares or people that go about checkmating all these transporters. There might be people that want to travel but because of the price they cannot. You can imagine one family came in here with six persons travelling, how much will they pay. Its too much.
“So they should have bodies, agencies that go about to making sure Nigerians are not unnecessarily exploited,” she said.
“Normally, I do not use land transportation going to the East because of the hike in flight rate too that is why I decided to use road”.
Mr. Chima Emmanuel while speaking with a TNG correspondent said “usually I pay N6,500.00 going to the East from Lagos to Aba or Owerri but now I am paying N11,500.00. Its on the high side.
“Normally, I do not use land transportation going to the East because of the hike in flight rate too that is why I decided to use the road.
Travellers with travel tickets waiting for vehicles at a transport terminal in Lagos on Saturday (Photo: Bayo Animasaun)
“They booked me 7:20 am for departure, but this is 8:30 and our bus is not here, they are calling buses from another terminal to pick us. I am not confident here, I am worried, because I don’t know if they are going to cancel our trip or we will stay here for another extra hour. I am travelling alone; I came to Lagos for business purpose so I am going back to the East.
Another passenger, Anozie Michael, who just got back from Abakaliki said, “Over there in the East the transport fare is very cheap coming to Lagos, the transporters are even begging us for one thousand naira. For me I actually boarded the bus for one thousand, five hundred naira from Abakaliki to Lagos”.
He added that “the transporters aim is to just get fuel money to Lagos, then they get their returns by hiking the price for those going to the East for Xmas and New Year celebrations”.
“There is supposed to be a regulatory system to check these excesses because to me there is no difference in service, the same service, and the same vehicles. And it is not as if as you are waiting, they will serve you breakfast or something”.
While several passengers told TNG on Saturday that they were not happy about the change in fares, some, like Favour Njoku, seem not to be bothered by the increment.
“I am travelling to Abakiliki to go and see my family and see my village people, see my old friends, and enjoy with them. It has been long I saw them.
“From Mazamaza here I am paying N11,000.00 to Abakiliki, where I used to pay between N5,000.00 and N6,000.00 to. Well, its their season.
“If you do not travel in this season, you are missing a lot. Travelling in this season, you could see your old friends, and as for me, I would be enjoying my mother’s food a long time after.
“I will also be enjoying with my siblings because all of them would be back home as well,” Favour, who was visibly enthusiastic, said.
Travellers boarding a vehicle at a transport terminal in Lagos state on Saturday (Photo: Bayo Animasaun)
However, one traveller who did not take it easy told a TNG correspondent she has no name and angrily said, “Transport fare is affecting our money”.
Meanwhile, Lawrence Agulonu, travelling to Port Harcourt, said before now, from Port Harcourt to Lagos used to be N7,000.00 or N8,000.00 thereabout, but that he paid N10,000.00 to get to Lagos, and now paid N12,000.00 returning to Port Harcourt.
“The difference I can say is as a result of the crowd as usual of the festive seasons. The difference is much. If I was not having much cash on me, I would have been embarrassed like some persons who have to return home without travelling.
“They are just maximizing the opportunity of the festive period to exploit travellers. There should be a check. There should be a regulatory system to check the excesses”.
“There is no reason whatsoever for the increase in fares; the same service, the same vehicles. It is amazing how transport operators set fares, especially during festive seasons. It is expected that during this rush period that there are more passengers travelling, there should be drop in fares or worse case, fares should remain the same, especially as there is no fuel scarcity or increase in the pump price.
“They are just maximizing the opportunity of the festive period to exploit travellers. There should be a check. There should be a regulatory system to check the excesses.
“I know they are here to make profit. They were making profit when they were collecting N7,000.00 even during the period they were having fewer travellers. The surge this period should make them drop the price or should remain as it was before now.
“There is supposed to be a regulatory system to check these excesses because to me there is no difference in service, the same service, and the same vehicles.
“The economic recession last year was so bad; people didn’t travel, but this year, its a different thing”.
“And it is not as if as you are waiting, they will serve you breakfast or something. You receive your travel ticket, and you will still have to wait for another 30 minutes to an hour before you hit the roads. To me, this is not good”.
A business manager at Okeyson Investment transport line who spoke with TNG said that turnout at his terminal has been great even with the increment in fares.
He said, “People are travelling, unlike last year. The economic recession last year was so bad; people didn’t travel, but this year, its a different thing.
Speaking about the fares, he described the increment as minimal, while stressing that the “little increment” is as a result of the cost of operations and the pattern of travelling in festive seasons.
“We have to blow empty vehicles from the East to come to Lagos to take passengers. So, we have to balance the lose we accrue in bringing empty vehicles from the East so that people can travel. So that is the reason for the marginal increase in the cost of transportation.
“We thank God there is no fuel scarcity this time around and there is no increase in fuel price compared to last year. The turnout has been great; people are travelling, despite the little increase in fare. We thank God for everything,” he said.
A business manager with God is Good motors, who craved anonymity, confirmed the surge affected the change in fares, stressing that demand dictates the rates they charge.
“When you have over 50 people in the terminal travelling a particular route, and you have fewer vehicles available for the route, what would you do? There has been a surge in passengers travelling the different routes, so the rates have to be adjusted,” he said.
Transportation network company, Uber Nigeria, currently has 9,000 active driver-partners and no fewer than 267,000 monthly riders, an official has said.
Francesca Uriri, the company’s Head of Communications in West Africa, made the disclosure in Lagos on Wednesday.
Uriri said that the drivers and riders were based in Abuja and Lagos, where Uber currently focused.
She claimed that the growing number of the riders was due to safety and services provided by the company.
“Uber works together with regulators to ensure the safety of its platform and that of those who use it,’’ Uriri said.
The official also said that Uber maintained a high level of privacy.
“Uber has taken steps to protect its sensitive external data repositories.
“In Nigeria Uber is currently available in Lagos and Abuja and is focused on enabling driver-partners by providing business and economic opportunities.
“The steadily growing number of Uber driver-partners in Nigeria is a testament to the appeal of the Uber business model.
“That is because it creates real opportunities for local entrepreneurs to create and enjoy flexibility and enhance earning potential,’’ she said.
According to Uriri, each city in Nigeria is unique and offers unique opportunities.
“We have found Nigeria to be defined by agility, creativity and adaptability; we are committed to growth, and excited about the potential.
“When Uber commenced operations in Lagos four years ago, it (Lagos) was the fourth city in sub-Saharan Africa,’’ she said.
She said Uber was already present in over 140 cities in 40 countries before then.
“Today, Uber is available in 13 cities in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is available globally in over 600 cities in over 75 countries spanning six continents,’’ she said.
Uriri said that Uber was constantly looking for ways to help driver-partners to get more value through many partnerships.
“In Nigeria, we have partnered with companies such as FirstBank and Germaine Autos to ease the barriers of car ownership for driver-partners and to provide valuable car maintenance and servicing plans.’’
Uriri listed mapping and traffic congestion as some of Uber’s challenges in Nigeria but said that the company was working hard daily to overcome challenges to ensure seamless experience.
Uber is a technology platform. The Uber app connects driver-partners and riders. Driver-partners use their own vehicles to pick up riders and drive them to their destinations and are paid for each completed trip.
Uber was founded in March 2009 in San Francisco, California, U.S.
Governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Senator Magnus Ngei Abe, has called for stiffer regulations for the marine transport sector in Rivers State in order to check incessant cases of boat mishap on the waterways.
Abe spoke against the backdrop of a recent boat accident along the Bakana waterways, Degema Local Government Area, which resulted in several fatalities.
He described the late Joseph Blankson, who died while rescuing his fellow passengers when the boat they were travelling in capsized on Saturday, July 28, 2018, as a genuine hero.
Senator Abe, who spoke when he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late Blankson of Bakana Community in Degema Local Government Area of Rivers State, expressed regrets that several lives are lost daily on waterways.
He said the state government ought to do more by ensuring that those responsible for movement of passenger-boats on waterways in the state live up to their responsibilities.
Abe, who is also the Senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the National Assembly said: “We need to find out exactly why these things continue to occur and people are not being held accountable”.
“What are the rules and regulations that guide our waterways? Who are those responsible for enforcement of the rules? Why do we continue to throw precious lives away without taking action?”
What are we doing to ensure that whoever is responsible is held accountable and punished to ensure that it does not happen again to other people?
“More importantly, we need to realise that when we do not have regulations, or where we have regulations and we fail to enforce them, where people are charged with responsibility and they fail to discharge that responsibility and in the process lives are lost, those responsible for that thing that they did not do are responsible for those lives that are lost”.
“As we stand here today, people have died on our waterways. If these passengers had life jackets, if they obeyed the regulations that govern our waterways, all these people that are dead will today be alive”.
“We must go beyond issuing statements”
“We must take practical steps to punish those that are responsible and to ensure that this does not happen again, so that tomorrow, we do not need to pay this kind of visit to another mother that is grieving”.
The Senator further said, “From what I gathered, several other lives were lost. There are several homes today where there is no joy. Strong action must be taken to forestall a repeat of this tragedy.”
Responding on behalf of the family, Nimi Bobmanuel expressed happiness over Abe’s visit and thanked him for his compassionate words.
Arizona police on Monday said an Uber self-driving car hit and killed a woman crossing the street, making it the first fatality involving an autonomous vehicle.
This is a potential blow to the technology that is expected to transform the transport industry, with Uber saying it is suspending North American tests of its self-driving vehicles, which are currently going on in Arizona, Pittsburgh and Toronto.
So-called robot cars, when fully developed by companies including Uber, Alphabet and General Motors, are expected to drastically cut down on motor vehicle fatalities and create billion-dollar businesses.
But Monday’s accident underscored the possible challenges ahead for the promising technology as the cars confront real-world situations involving real people.
US lawmakers have been debating legislation that would speed introduction of self-driving cars.
“This tragic accident underscores why we need to be exceptionally cautious when testing and deploying autonomous vehicle technologies on public roads,” said Democratic Senator Edward Markey, a member of the transportation committee, in a statement.
Elaine Herzberg, 49, was walking her bicycle outside the crosswalk on a four-lane road in the Phoenix suburb of Tempe about 10pm MST Sunday (0400 GMT Monday) when she was struck by the Uber vehicle travelling at about 40 miles per hour (65 km per hour), police said. The Volvo XC90 SUV was in autonomous mode with an operator behind the wheel.
Herzberg later died from her injuries in a hospital, police said.
“The pedestrian was outside of the crosswalk. As soon as she walked into the lane of traffic she was struck,” Tempe Police Sergeant Ronald Elcock told reporters at a news conference. He said he did not yet know how close Herzberg was to the vehicle when she stepped into the lane.
Elcock said he believed Herzberg may have been homeless.
The San Francisco Chronicle late Monday reported that Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir said that from viewing videos taken from the vehicle “it’s very clear it would have been difficult to avoid this collision in any kind of mode (autonomous or human-driven) based on how she came from the shadows right into the roadway.”
Moir told the Chronicle, “I suspect preliminarily it appears that the Uber would likely not be at fault in this accident,” but she did not rule out that charges could be filed against the operator in the Uber vehicle, the paper reported.
The “Tempe Police Department does not determine fault in vehicular collisions,” the department said in a statement late Monday, in reply to questions from Reuters about the chief’s comments. “Ultimately the investigation will be submitted to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office for review and any potential charges.”
Tempe authorities and federal officials are still investigating the incident. Canada’s transportation ministry in Ontario, where Uber conducts testing, also said it was reviewing the accident.
Volvo, the Swedish car brand owned by China’s Geely, said the software controlling the car in the crash was not its own.
Video footage will aid the ongoing investigation, and the case would be submitted to the district attorney, Elcock said.
“Our investigators have that information, and they will be using that in their investigation as well as the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office as part of their investigation,” said Elcock. “They are going to attempt to try to find who was possibly at fault and how we can better be safe, whether it’s pedestrians or whether it’s the vehicle itself.”
–Wild West–
Uber and Waymo on Friday urged Congress to pass sweeping legislation to speed the introduction of self-driving cars into the United States. Some congressional Democrats have blocked the legislation over safety concerns, and Monday’s fatality could hamper passage of the bill, congressional aides said Monday.
Safety advocates called for a national moratorium on all robot car testing on public roads.
“Arizona has been the wild west of robot car testing with virtually no regulations in place,” said Consumer Watchdog, a non-profit consumer advocacy group, in a statement. “That’s why Uber and Waymo test there. When there’s no sheriff in town, people get killed.”
Arizona has opened its arms to companies testing self-driving vehicles as a means to economic growth and jobs. Republican Governor Doug Ducey reached out to Uber in 2016 after California regulators cracked down on the company over its failure to obtain testing permits.
Self-driving cars being tested routinely get into fender-benders with other vehicles. Last week, a self-driving Uber crashed with another vehicle in Pittsburgh, local news reported. There were no injuries.
A year ago, Uber temporarily grounded its self-driving cars for a few days following a crash with another car in Tempe. The company has been the subject of a number of complaints about its autonomous vehicles, but the company has said the cars were being driven by a human driver at the time of the incidents.
–Essential to Uber’s success–
Uber has said its ability to build autonomous cars is essential to its success in the rapidly changing transportation industry. The company envisions a network of autonomous cars that would be summoned through the Uber app that would supplement – and eventually replace – human-driven cars.
Uber has logged 2 million self-driving miles (3.2 million km) through December. The company has more than 100 autonomous cars testing on the roads of the greater Phoenix area, the company’s prime testing ground due to the state’s loose regulations and hospitable weather. Rain, snow and ice are particularly challenging for autonomous cars. The company also tests in Pittsburgh and Toronto.
Concerns over the safety of autonomous vehicles flared after a July 2016 fatality involving a Tesla automobile with a partially autonomous system that required human supervision. Safety regulators later determined Tesla was not at fault.
A European Union (EU) top court on Wednesday ruled that Uber is like God is Good Motors (GIGM) and any other transportation company, instead of an app, and should be regulated as such.
A Spanish taxi association sued Uber after the ride-hailing firm drew the fury of local taxi drivers and officials for flouting local regulations.
“The service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport.
“Member states can, therefore, regulate the conditions for providing that service,” said the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice.
Uber, the biggest name in the growing gig economy, claims in the lawsuit that it is a mere service provider, connecting consumers with drivers in more than 600 cities.
Uber has run into huge opposition from taxi companies and other competitors who say this allows it to dodge costly regulations such as training and licensing requirements for drivers and vehicles.
The case was brought by a taxi drivers’ association in the Spanish city of Barcelona, where belief runs high that Uber is a taxi company that should be subject to rules governing such vehicles.
In a dense legal judgement, the European Court of Justice said Uber was a service that connects “by means of a smartphone application and for remuneration non-professional drivers using their own vehicle with persons who wish to make urban journeys”.
That means it is “inherently linked to a transport service and, accordingly, must be classified as a ‘service in the field of transport’ within the meaning of EU law”.
Reacting to the ruling, spokesman for the Elite Taxi association, Ivan Esma, told newsmen, “This will truly represent a social victory, and the whole of society will benefit from this” while adding that “the road will be long” for the ruling to be enforced.
Meanwhile, Uber has said the ruling would make little difference in practice.
“This ruling will not change things in most EU countries where we already operate under transportation law,” an Uber spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Uber, unlike other transport companies like GIGM, does not employ drivers or own vehicles, but instead relies on private contractors with their own cars, allowing them to run their own businesses.
Nigerian drivers on the Uber platform, however, have a way of boycotting the service, citing several reasons.
The Lagos State Government on Wednesday issued a seven-day ultimatum to inter-state transport operators to vacate Ikorodu Road.
Mr Steve Ayorinde, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, disclosed this during the inspection of inter-state bus terminals on Ikorodu road.
He said that Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode toured the area on Tuesday night and was very displeased with the manner in which the inter- state transport operators were using the main town.
“We are, however, saying that henceforth, we will no longer allow inter-state buses to operate along Ikorodu Road; they will have to move to Ojota and Ojodu-Berger bus terminals designated for them by the state government.
“And there is a seven-day ultimatum for them to move, starting from today. It is for the benefit of the residents because their operations here are not decent and tidy.
“Take a look at the iron barricades mounted on our roads with tax-payers money, they are being destroyed by these bus operators. It goes to show how people abuse and disrespect the tax payers’ money, in spite of repeated warnings by government.
“ We can no longer condone it and in the interest of the residents, what is decent, tidy and civilised is to move them to where they really belong, so that we can free the cities.
“You can see what we are doing with the state city plan, more bus terminals are springing up in Yaba, TBS, Ikeja and other areas. The whole essence is to protect the sanctity of the environment and the public, ‘’ Ayorinde said.
Also speaking to journalists, Mr Anofi Elegushi, Special Adviser to the Governor on Transport, said that arrangements had been made for the relocation and quit notice served.
Elegusi said the relocation was to better utilise the flyovers for better purposes, such as beautification and security.
He said that the government had been meeting with the stakeholders and spaces provided at Ojota and Ojodu- Berger could accommodate the inter-state transport operators from the Ikorodu Road axis.
“The seven-day ultimatum is to allow them to organise themselves and come to us for allocation of spaces at the terminals and if by the end of seven days they refuse to comply, enforcement will commence.
“We urge the operators to cooperate with government as the relocation will not affect their businesses or livelihood.
Mrs Bilkiss Adebiyi-Abiola, General Manager, Lagos Parks and Gardens, said there was a beautification plan to the government’s city plan.
Adebiyi- Abiola said that the agency had started working on the designs for the beautification of the reclaimed flyovers at Ikorodu Road, Mile-2, Festac and Lagos Island.
According to her, the agency will be starting with these areas and later extend to other areas of the state.
“This fits into the general Greener Lagos Initiative – we are going to introduce greenery, trees and plants that will help the environment and add value to the health of residents,’’ she added.
