Transportation in Nigeria is broadly of three major forms like it is obtainable in other climes. We have the land, water and Air transportation. I would like to start with land transportation.
Trekking
The most popular and affordable form of land transportation is trekking. People in most cases naturally prefer this because it is cheaper than other forms of transportation. However, it has a limit of distance that can conveniently be covered. I see people trekk a distance of about 5 kilometers in one hour or less. This may cost them about 300 Naira ($0.4) if they are to go in another mode of transportation like a motorcycle or tricycle. When the distance is longer, one may need to make use of other modes instead of trekking. The terrain, weather and season are also determining factors. Many people prefer to trekk when there is no dust or sun to avoid dirty legs and sweating much.
Bicycle
Another form of land transportation is the use of bicycles. A few people have bicycles to navigate through a short distance of journey (longer than that of trekking comparatively).
A man riding his bicycle to work.
A pupil riding her bicycle to school.
It is a cheap form of land transportation because it doesn't require petroleum motor spirit or any other fuel. It is also easy to maintain. A distance of about 5 km could be covered in less than 10 minutes. Comparing this to trekking, it is much faster. I wish to join the league of bicycle owners soon in order to be using it to go to work.
The increase in the cost of transportation occasioned by the removal of subsidy has made it expedient to devise other means of moving around. I was surprised when I read it from post that some bicycles cost as much as 300000 naira ($408) to 500000 naira ($680). I will check out for the cheaper ones. I bought one for 4000 naira when I was in highschool in 2004. I am sure that type would cost a fortune now, lol.
Motorcycle
This is another popular mode of transportation in Nigeria. Some people have it for individual use while others patronize the commercial ones popularly known as Okada. I patronize Okada very well on a daily basis. Before the removal of subsidy, I used to pay about 80 naira ($0.1) for a distance of about 2 kilometers but the price has increased to about 150 naira ($0.2) after the removal of petrol subsidy. My colleague that comes to work with his personal motorcycle also complains about the increase in the cost of fueling it. I was thinking of buying one before but because of the cost of fuel presently, I have changed my mind to buying a bicycle.
A passenger demonstrating the direction to the Okada rider
Okada park
Keke Napep
Tricycles are popularly referred to as keke Napep. I haven't seen anyone own this as a private mode of transportation. All the ones I have seen are for commercial purposes. They operate very similar to motorcycles. The major difference is that keke Napep is slightly cheaper to make a journey than motorcycle. A keke Napep carries four passengers while a motorcycle carries one.
Motorcycles, however, have the advantage of accessing some terrains that tricycles and cars can't access.
Each day that I am going to work, I pay Keke Napep 50 Naira ($0.07) for a kilometer journey after paying a motorcycle 150 Naira ($0.2 for 2 kilometers. You could see the slight difference. Keke Napep is also less prone to accidents compared to motorcycles. This is a reason many prefer it to Okada.
Car/Buses
This is mostly for inter-towns and inter-states traveling. Many people have private cars. Recently, many are parking it to patronize public taxis due to the increase in the cost of fueling the car. The increase in transportation cost is mostly felt in this mode of transportation than the ones mentioned before. Presently, a journey of 160 kilometers cost about 5000 Naira ($6.8). Bus carries more passengers and is slightly cheaper. It's been more than six months since I boarded a taxi anywhere. This is because they are not popular for intra-town movements which I majorly engage in.
A private car leaving its compound.
Commercial bus
Lorries/Trucks
These are majorly used to transport goods. I feel the heat of this mode of transportation whenever the man at the market mentions the high cost of transportation as the reason for increasing the price of his commodities. Train service is still not connected to the majority part of Nigeria and as a result, heavy loads are still being transported on the road.
This poses a lot of dangers to small vehicles and the durability of the road itself but we have no option than to live with it that way. I don't have first hand experience of their charges and I can't give any examples.
Train
This is almost not existing in Nigeria. Out of hundreds of cities in Nigeria, I don't think we have up to ten connected by active train services. Among the few cities connected is Abuja and Kaduna. I once boarded a train from Abuja to Kaduna and paid 3600 Naira ($4.9) for the 196 kilometers journey.
The acceptance and patronage were increasing over the last few years. This mode of transportation is new to the present generation of Nigerians and they prefer traveling by road to and from cities connected by train. The patronage of train services was increasing till when a train was attacked and passengers killed while others were kidnapped. The kidnapped victims were released after six months but the damage had been done again to people's trust in the safety of traveling by trains.
The government gave assurance that the security measures had been increased when reopening the train services but many people, including me, are still skeptical in patronizing them again. I hope they win the confidence of Nigerians better and also connect more towns and cities with railways.
Water and Air transportation.
I stay in the Northern part of the country where water bodies are not readily available for water transportation. I don't have any experience in that regard. I only watch transportation through water from mostly the riverine areas of Nigeria on television. Earlier today, I saw a floating filling station for the first time . It dispenses fuel to boats on water.
I also hope to have an experience of Air transportation soon. I read several reports about how expensive it is now to travel within Nigeria by Air. A distance of about 900 kilometers cost more than 100000 Naira ($136) a few months ago. I got to know when my colleague traveled from Kaduna to Lagos. I heard of about 45% increments a few days ago. If that's true, it becomes rather more expensive to travel through the Air.
All the pictures were taken with my phone.
Thank you for your time.