Some commuters in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, have lamented the increase in transportation fares within the city, owing to the current fuel scarcity.

Some of them who spoke during an interview on Sunday said they now pay double the fare that had hitherto been increased since the removal of fuel subsidy.

Transportation fare increased in the Ilorin metropolis since Saturday due to fuel scarcity and its unavailability.

Olunlade to Offa Garage which used to be N100 is now N200, Offa Garage to Mandate Market which was N200 is now between N350 and N400, depending on the bargaining power.

Also, Olunlade to Post Office now costs N400 while commercial motorcyclists operating within areas to junctions now charge between N250 and N300 as against N150 and N200.

Mrs Grace Philip who went to shop at Mandate Market said the cost of transportation reduced what she was able to buy in the market.

‘‘Already, the money I had with me cannot buy all what we need in the house, but I just had to come and manage, but on getting to the road, the transportation fare is now double. This means the limited money I have will be affected again, which boils down to the fact that what we are going through is unbearable. There were rumours that the price of fuel will reduce for some weeks now. But instead, it had become more expensive and even unavailable because people are struggling to buy,” she said.

On her part, Aisha Mohammed said that she would have to trek the junction where she often alights to her house because the money meant for motor bikes has been spent on plying the main road.

She begged that the situation be put under control soon because it won’t be easy for people to get to where they earn their living.

Mr Umar Haroon expressed sympathy with students because they would spend the most useful part of their time scrambling for transportation due to the limited vehicles on the road.

He said they would be tired by the time they get to school and may not be useful to themselves for the rest of the day.

Only a few filling stations were seen selling fuel with the attendant long queues of vehicles.

Those selling dispensed a litre of fuel for N750, others sold for between N850 and N900, while black marketers sold for as high as N1, 000 or N1,500 per litre.

(NAN)