The high oil prices occasioned by the Middle East crisis is impacting heavily on the average  transport fares, and crippling movement as fares paid by comuters for intercity travel in the last one year has been on the rise.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its May 2026 Transport Fare Watch report, the average fare paid by commuters for a single intercity bus travel went up by 21.89 per cent to N9,699.55 in May 2026 from N7,957.41 in May 2025.

The Transport Fare Watch covers the following categories: bus journey within the city per drop constant route; bus journey intercity (state route) charge per person; air fare charge for specified routes single journey; journey by motorcycle (Okada) per drop; and water way passenger transport.

The report shows that on a month-on-month basis, the fair increased marginally by 0.96 per cent from N9,607.41 recorded in April 2026.

However, for bus journeys within the city per drop the average fare increased increased to 2.43 per cent on a month-on-month basis, rising from N1,397.27 in April 2026 to N1,431.25 in May 2026. On a year-on-year basis, the average fare recorded a significant in-crease of 38.63 per cent compared to the N1,032.46 paid in May 2025.

In air travel, the average fare paid by air passengers for specified routes single journey was N157,552.19 in May 2026, showing an increase of 0.12 per cent while compared to previous month (April 2026). On a year-on -year basis, the fare rose by 20.86 per cent from N130,361.85 in May 2025.

The average transport fare paid on Okada transportation stood at N1,072.51 in May 2026, representing a 3.56 per cent increase compared to the N1,035.69 recorded in April 2026. On a year-on-year basis, the average fare rose by 52.45 per cent, from N703.54 in May 2025 to N1,072.51 in May 2026.

For water transport (waterway passenger transportation), the average fare paid in May 2026 was N2,276.48 which indicates an increase of 2.41 per cent on monthly basis. On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 30.88 per cent from N1,739.32 in May 2025.

State-level analysis of transport fares revealed that Ondo State recorded the highest average fare at N11,080.00, closely followed by Abia State at N11,066.13. In contrast, the lowest fares were recorded in Kwara State with N7,969.29 and Edo State with N8,000.61.

For bus journeys within city (per drop, constant route), Zamfara State recorded the highest average fare at N1,878.80, followed by Taraba State at N1,771.96. Conversely, the lowest fares were observed in Abia State (N890.05) and Adamawa State (N918.47).

Nigeria is currently experiencing a spike in inflation as prices of general goods, especially agricultural products are rising following the high cost of transportation. The situation has added to the already worsening cost of living crisis ravaging households.