Passenger boat operators lament over 75% drop in patronage

Ferry operators under the aegis of the Waterfront Boat Owners and Transporters Association (WABOTAN)have lamented over the harsh operating environment boat operators are currently subjected to, stating that they have lost close to 75 percent patronage from passengers.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune exclusively, President of WABOTAN, Babatope Fajemirokunexplained that due to the very high cost of ferry services across the State, many passengers now prefer road transportation to waterways transportation.

According to the WABOTAN President, “The cost of operating passengers ferry services since the removal of fuel subsidy has more than tripled because of the rate at which we now buy fuel to power our boats.

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“And the only way we can recoup our money is to transfer the fuel cost difference on the cost of passenger boat services. This has made cost of passenger boat services to shoot up, thus forcing many of our customers to opt for road transport rather than waterways transport.

“Most of us have pruned down our operations because there are no passengers to ferry across the waterways. If you go to Liverpool jetty, the place is empty. Nowadays, we do just one trip there because when you get there, you won’t see people gathered around the jetty to ferry.

“Aside the high cost of passenger ferry operations that has affected our services, the clearance of the Apapa to Mile 2 express road is also a major reason for the drop-in passenger volume around some of the jetties.

“For instance, the Liverpool Jetty used to be filled up with passengers looking to beat the gridlock around the Tin-Can Port access road (Apapa-Oshodi express road). But that road has now been cleared andpassengers’ now transit Apapa to Mile 2 within 15 minutes. So many of our customers now move by road to Mile 2 and beyond, thus further leaving the jetties empty.”

On whether the government is making efforts to subsidize their operations amid the fuel subsidy removal impact, Fajemirokun explained that the Lagos State government will soon be handing over some new boats to operators and also subsidizing fueling for these boats.

“By next week, we should take possession of some boats from the State government. The state government has promised to help us do something about getting fuel for the new boats. So we expect that when we get these boats and also get help in the area of sourcing for fuel, the cost of ferry trips will come down and many of our jetties that have become near empty will bounce back to life because passengers will come back when cost of ferry services come down,” the WABOTAN President told the Nigerian Tribune exclusively.