Abuja commercial tricycle riders decry ticket fee hike, fuel price

Tricycle (Keke) operators in Karshi, Abuja, have decried the indiscriminate increase in ticket fees.

Some of the operators who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday said the new charges were too high and were reducing their daily income.

They said the hike, combined with rising fuel prices and other operational costs, was making it difficult for them to earn a living.

NAN reports that the tricycle operators began a three-day strike over the recent hike in ticket fees.

A keke operator, Mr Kabiru Inusa, said the increase in ticket fees was a major reason for the strike.

He said that before now, the ticket fees stood at N200 but were suddenly jacked up by the union to N500.

According to him, the new ticket fees, combined with the high cost of fuel, are too much for them to handle.

“We pay for tickets at every park we enter, and this adds to our burden. This is why we stopped work and are calling on the government to intervene,” he said.

Similarly, another operator, Mr Ibrahim Musa, said that aside from the ticket hike, the cost of maintaining tricycles had also increased.

Musa explained that spare parts and repairs were now more expensive, adding that the extra cost was cutting their profits and making it difficult for them to meet daily needs and support their families.

In the same vein, Mr Suleiman Danladi, another keke operator, said harassment from some task force officials had made their work more stressful.

Danladi said operators were sometimes forced to pay unjustified additional charges on the road.

He added that the strike was not just about ticket fees, but also about fair treatment and better working conditions for keke riders.

Mr Idris Usman, another operator, said the situation worsened after the arrest of their chairman, popularly known as Ustaaz.

According to him, the chairman opposed the high ticket fees imposed on operators and pushed for a fee reduction.

“Instead of the union to reason with him, they arrested him and this further angered us.

“The steady hike in ticket fees over time is becoming worrisome. We used to pay ₦100, which later increased to ₦200; now we pay between ₦700 and ₦800 depending on the park. This is too much for operators to cope with,” he said.

NAN reports that the operators have appealed to the government to review the ticket charges and address their concerns to enable them return to work.

Commuters have also appealed to both parties to settle their differences so the operators can resume work and ease the suffering of commuters. (NAN)