By Maria Famakinwa

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With the recent hike in fares which swept across several states of the federation, many residents of Ondo State, like other states whose workplaces or destinations are not too far from their houses have resorted to trekking to reduce cost of transportation.

This came as the recent hike in the price of petrol has pushed up transport fares by over 50 percent across the country. Most of them revealed that trekking remains the only option left for them to reduce the amount spent on transportation daily.

The price hike has had a widespread impact on some citizens of the country with some people especially low-income earners resorting to long-distance trekking. Some state governments, to cushion the effects of hikes in petrol prices, directed workers within particular grade levels to work from home. People sighted  by The Hope trekking  to different destinations when approached revealed that it was a way to cut the cost of transportation, otherwise they would be stranded.

A salary earner living in HOB around Igbatoro, Akure, Mr Oriyomi Babalola, explained that it was better to trek a few distances to cut costs to have something left in his salary. He said: “Before the fuel hike, I used to take Okada from my house to ShopRite for N300 or N400 and join a cab from there to Oja for N200  to my office, but now, the situation has changed. I now pay thrice of what I used to pay. Okada from my house to ShopRite is now N800, while I  pay N400 to Oja aside from taking another Okada to my office at bypass.

“What I do now is to trek half of the way from my house to where Okada can collect N500 and once I board a vehicle to Oja, I also trek to my office to cut cost. I am not the only one doing this, some civil servants who could not afford the high cost of transportation are also trekking including those who have cars but could not fuel them. The situation is serious and we must devise means of coping,” he said.

A trader, who simply gave her name as mummy Yinka, lamented that an increase in transportation costs which she could not afford had forced her to trek. The mother of three who disclosed that she gave the little money she had to her children for transportation to school complained that it is tough for parents now who are trying to feed and care for the children.

Her words: “I  trek than allow my children to trek. I have concluded that any day I don’t have money and their daddy cannot provide the transport money, they will stay at home because if children trek to school, they will be too tired to learn. Even anytime I trek to my shop, it takes me hours to recover from the stress.”

Asked why she could not choose a school closer to her house for her children, she said: “I have changed my last child’s school to the one closer to my house but the other two who are in secondary school still retain their former school because of the school’s standard. As soon as I see another good secondary school closer to my house, I will change their school. Most families are struggling to cope. If I don’t trek some distance to cut costs, it will be difficult to buy food that my family will eat.”

A commercial driver in Akure, Mr Taofik Ayinde, who revealed that taxi drivers are the worst  hit by the hike in the petrol price said that most drivers due to lack of passengers had parked their cabs for other alternatives.

His words: “Instead of making gains, commercial drivers are counting losses because most passengers have taken to trekking. That is why most cabs are empty, yet we are burning fuel. Imatransportation fares from  Roadblock to Oja-Oba for N200 which was the price three years ago. Some of them, after boarding the vehicle and getting to their bus stops, will be begging you to accept the amount they have even after telling them the price before boarding the vehicle. Passengers need to be considerate and understand that the transportation business has no gain like before. Some of us that are still in the business are doing it not to be idle as soon as I can get a better job, I will forget this and move  on, ” he said.

Sharing a similar view, another commercial driver, Mr Bola Lawrence, who also said that increment in fuel price discourages many commercial drivers from the business explained that aside  not making any gain, he still spends money on maintenance.

He said: “Don’t you observe that the roads are empty? How many commercial drivers do you see on the roads? The few that are on the road don’t have full passengers. Last week I queued for 10 hours to buy  fuel. After I left the filling station, I went home straight because it was late, meaning that I wasted the whole day queuing for fuel. The next day, I parked  my vehicle on the road hoping for a brisk business only to discover at the end of the day that a good percentage of the money I made was used to buy fuel. I was so devastated that the next day, I packed my vehicle and applied for manual labour work because I have mouths to feed.

“Everyone is haunted by the situation, passengers now trek instead of boarding vehicles.

To augment our daily income is no longer feasible because most passengers now trek short distances. The increase in fuel prices has made Nigerians see trekking as an exercise even under the scorching sun. Students too are not left out. We are appealing to the authorities concerned to do everything possible to address the hardship. It is quite unbearable.”

Some students seen trekking were asked why they couldn’t  board a vehicle. One of them who  gave her name as Idowu, said that they could not afford the cost. “We used to pay N100  but now it is N300 per drop which our parents cannot afford. Besides, we are still agile and can trek any distance without feeling it.”

Another student, Praise, hinted that they were used to trekking before the increase in fuel price.” Most of us have been trekking before the increment in fuel price and now that the price of fuel had gone up, we have good reasons to trek. Besides, trekking is part of exercise. The current situation calls for it. You can see that not only the students are trekking other people are also trekking because it is the only way to reduce transportation fares.”