Oct. 1 fare cuts could ease Nigerians’ burden – Expert
Lagos, Sept. 2026 (TBL Africa) An energy expert, Dr Ayodele Oni, says the Federal Government’s planned reduction in public transport fares from Oct. 1 will benefit low-income Nigerians most.
Oni, Partner and Chair, Energy and Natural Resources Practice Group, Bloomfield Law Practice, said this in an interview in Lagos on Sunday.
President Bola Tinubu on Saturday directed state governments to accelerate the deployment of compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric mass transit systems to achieve measurable reductions in transportation fares from Oct. 1.
The President, however, ruled out a return to petrol subsidy.
Oni said the initiative would directly benefit low-income Nigerians, who rely heavily on commercial buses, tricycles and intercity transport.
“The poor are exactly the people the initiative would reach first because they are the ones using commercial buses, tricycles and intercity buses, not private cars.
“Cheap transport also means cheaper food because the same buses and lorries carry goods to markets, and that is where the poorest feel it most,” he said.
According to him, focusing on public transport fares rather than petrol prices would avoid returning the country to an unaffordable subsidy regime.
“Nobody on N70,000 a month is worried about the price of petrol for a personal vehicle; they are worried about what the conductor charges them.
“So, an initiative aimed at commercial transport is, by design, aimed at them,” he said.
Oni, however, said the policy direction was sound but expressed concerns about its scale and implementation.
“About 120,000 converted vehicles and 90 refuelling stations is a beginning, not an ecosystem, in a country with well over 10 million vehicles.
“The fare reductions we are hearing about are largely state-funded fleets and union arrangements,” he said.
The expert said the real test would be whether commercial operators voluntarily converted their vehicles based on favourable economics and passed the savings to commuters.
He said this would require adequate refuelling stations along major transport corridors, accessible conversion financing and reliable gas supply at predictable prices.
Oni also warned that operators could convert their vehicles, reduce fuel costs and retain the savings rather than lower fares.
“That is why the unions and state governments matter,” he said.
According to him, fares under a National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) arrangement in Abuja had fallen by 40 per cent because the agreement was reached and enforced at union level.
He urged governments to replicate such arrangements on major urban and intercity routes, publish agreed fares and enable commuters to hold operators accountable.
“Beyond that, the fastest way to make this benefit the poorest is to convert the vehicles they actually use, tricycles and minibuses, rather than concentrating on new bus fleets that serve a limited number of routes,” he said.
