Passengers travelling by road to various cities in Nigeria have been told by Association of Private Transport Company Owners of Nigeria (APTCON) to brace up for an increase in fares, effective September 19, 2016.

APTCON made this announcement in a notice to its members. It  said it was constrained to mark up transport fares by 40 percent because of the prevailing harsh operating business environment, which has seen cost of operations rise by more than 80 percent. 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 according to reports from The Authority.

“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.

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.