Posted by In Akure, the capital of the Ondo state, commercial taxi drivers and tricycle owners got into a fight over the rise in transportation costs brought on by the increase in the price of gas.
The commercial tricyclists were accused by the taxi drivers who stopped traffic on Friday along the congested Oba Adesida/Oyemekun road of picking up passengers for less than the rate established by the drivers’ union.
The drivers’ union had set the cost of a trip from FUTA Northgate to Oja-Oba at N300 instead of the previous N200, which the commercial motorcycle riders continued to charge.
In response to the situation, commercial drivers mobilized on the roadways and started releasing passengers being transported by the commercial tricyclists.
Many people were left stuck as a result of the crisis, especially workers who were en route to work and decided to use ‘okada’ to go to their offices and destinations.
According to Daily Post, several of the taxi drivers claimed that if they permitted the commercial tricyclists to continue picking up clients for less than the negotiated sum, they would become indebted.
Lekan Oluduro, one of the cab drivers, emphasized that they weren’t battling the tricyclists but rather wanted to make sure they agreed to pick up customers at the new fixed cost, especially because they now buy gasoline for N500 per litre.
We have assembled here, he continued, since the new drop costs of N300 or N200 are too expensive for the passengers. Instead of charging N300, tricycle drivers are taking people for N200.
Sesan Akinkunmi, another driver, claimed they couldn’t maintain a daily balance of N4000 if they were spending N15,000 each day on 30 liters of fuel.
Some trike riders said that since there was free competition, the modest price increases would benefit them.