Commercial activities were grounded; scores of passengers were on Wednesday stranded in Benin as intra-city commercial drivers grounded operations over the increase in the daily ticket rate by the Edo State Government.
Passengers had to resort to trek due to the protest that caught many residents of the ancient city unaware.
Commercial vehicles with passengers onboard were being stopped and harassed by irate members of the transport unions in strategic areas across the city.
Mr Solomon Agbovaire, one of the transporters explained that the state government on Tuesday increased the ticket fee from N800 per day to N2000.
This, he said did not go down well with members of all the transport unions in the state.
“You will have to trek since government wants to kill us. We are asked to be paying N2000 daily for ticket as against the N800 we use to pay previously.
“This is unacceptable,” Agbovaire angrily said.
In her reaction, Mrs Ifeoma Iroha, one of the affected passengers told newsmen that it was a height of insensitivity on the part of the state government to increase the fee amidst the prevailing harsh economic situation.
Iroha lamented how she was forced to pay the transport fare despite the fact that she was not conveyed to the agreed destination.
“I am going to Ring Road, but we were stopped at Five Junctions, which is about three to four kilometers to the bus stop.
“We were all forced to disembark from the bus and they forcefully collected the fare from us.
“This is frustrating because my journey will not end at Ring Road. I will still have to proceed further.
“But as it is now, I have not know how long I will have to trek,” she said.
Mr Mark Ehanire said that increasing the ticket fee by more than 100 per cent was not the best.
Government, he said should be always aware that policy like this would bring untold hardship on the masses.
“For instance, this action will definitely affect my business for today.
“I am going to Agip side on the Sapele Road and this is happening to me.
“In fact I don’t know what to say that to appeal to the government to rescind this decision.”
Headline4 days ago
Politics4 days ago
