Barely three months after a price increase was introduced across all routes, Primero Transport Services Limited, operators of the BRT bus scheme have decided to reduce fares by 5%. BRT buses are the big blue buses that run within the state.
MD of the company, Deji Tinubu disclosed this in an interview over the weekend.
Here’s a list of the routes whose fare have been reduced:
- Ikorodu-Maryland will now be N150 as against N200.
- Passengers plying the Maryland-Fadeyi route will pay N50 less, as the fare has been reduced to N250.
- Commuters on the Fadeyi to Costain route who hitherto paid N300, will now pay N250.
Factors that may have led to the reduction
The firm, when it announced an increase in fares a few months ago had blamed it on several factors including a depreciation of the Naira against the dollar which had led to an increase in fuel prices and made spare parts more expensive. Since then however, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced several windows to access foreign exchange, and this has increased the volume of foreign exchange available for individuals and businesses.
The company may also have recorded in a drop in patronage due to the increase. The company could also have gotten wind of competition The Lagos State government had few months back announced plans to phase out the popular danfo buses and replace them with a more decent alternative. Lagbus limited, the state-owned bus operator has not signalled if it will also reduce fares.
Primero Transport Services Limited began operations on the 12th of November 2015 with 72 buses. The company has since expanded to over 470 buses and added new routes.
