Yuletide: Returning Travellers Recount Ordeals

Motor parks in Enugu metropolis have been a beehive activities due to many travelers rushing to board vehicles to return to their destinations after the celebration of the New Year.

Some of the passengers told THE WHISTLER, Thursday, that they had spent over three hours waiting for buses, to no avail. They blamed it on the increasing number of travelers, mainly those who came home to celebrate Christmas and New Year with their loved ones.

Charity Eya said, “I am returning to Warri. There is no direct bus from this park to Delta State. So, I’ve been struggling to find a bus to convey me to Onitsha for over two hours now. I am number fifty by my ticket. The manager continues to say more buses are coming, but nothing seems true in what he is telling us.”

At another transport company, located at Holy Ghost, Enugu, a passenger, who refused to mention her name, said, “I am with my five children here. We came here around 7am. To get the tickets is a problem. Then after getting the tickets, entering the bus is another issue. We are made to struggle. Because the buses are not even available, anyone that comes will make the passengers struggle to get spaces.”

A manager in one of the companies, Ikenna Moses, said, “This is the season. Many passengers are waited till this time, hoping that transport fares would go down. That is why the prices have remained as they were before Christmas. The number of passengers seems to be increasing everyday.”

A survey by our correspondent reveals that the transport fare in most parks, from Nsukka to Lagos, is N15, 000; Nsukka to Enugu, N800; Nsukka to Onitsha, 3000, and Nsukka to Abuja, N8000.

Enugu to Lagos is N15, 000; Enugu to Onitsha varies from N2, 500 and N3, 000 while Enugu to Abuja is N10, 000.