Several commercial drivers in Ogun and Lagos states have expressed their dissatisfaction with the purported rise in the daily levies they are required to pay through the acquisition of tickets at different motor parks within the states.
Based on a report by The PUNCH, an investigation conducted at Mowe Motor Park in Ogun State, as well as Berger, Ketu, and Ojota Motor Parks in Lagos State, unveiled that commercial drivers were subjected to payment for a range of tickets with different prices, spanning from N100 to N500.
Additionally, it was noted that several tickets displayed varying inscriptions pertaining to the entities responsible for their issuance as well as the intended purpose for which they were distributed.
Several examples of these include the Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria, the State Park and Garage Cleaners Commercial Bus Ticket, the National Union of Road Transport Workers, the Lagos State Consolidated Daily Ticket, as well as several other types such as loading tickets, booking tickets, and marking tickets, among others.
It has been observed that union officials, who are tasked with the duty of ensuring payment compliance, have employed several unrefined approaches to enforce payment.
A driver, Oluwaseun Akinbamire, while lamenting the situation stated,“Some months back when I was going to Lagos, I didn’t wait at the motor park. One of the ticket collectors ran after me and removed my bus seat.
“He asked me to pay N1, 000, just because I didn’t pick up passengers from their park. He beat me up, but since there is nothing I can do, I left the seat for them and got another one.
“I have left the house since 5am and I had gone on two trips this morning, all the money with me is not up to N1,000.”
A second driver at Mowe Park, who introduced himself as Ajelo Jebo, expressed his dissatisfaction with the daily expenses and the harassment experienced from the union representatives.
“We buy fuel of N5,000 for each of our trips. We pay the conductors. We buy engine oil and repair our bus, and if we refuse to pay the ticket collectors, they will be removing our seats, break our glasses and also fight us. How much will the driver gain at the end of the day?” he lamented.
According to motorists at bus stops in Berger, Ketu, and Ojota, despite the union’s reduction of ticket rates by 25% due to the increase in fuel prices, they were still finding it difficult to operate.
A female motorist who simply gave her name as Iya Segun, said, “As soon as Agberos see you, they bring the ticket; at times we go home with N5,000 which is not supposed to be so. The money I realised yesterday was what I used to fuel my vehicle today. It’s too much.”
A union official at the Ketu Motor Park, Lagos, Ketu, Olatunbosun Adeleke, said, “Our leaders came and said we should find something to do and bring down the ticket prices, then the tickets issued by Lagos State as well as our dues have been reduced.
“We spoke with the drivers to collect N500 and it is not even profitable, but then there’s nothing we can do. We also have to help the people too as humans that we all are.”
