Boat passengers have accused the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) of making shady cash deductions from fares through its mandatory Cowry card payment system.

Tosin Oluwaseun, a boat passenger in Lagos, told FIJ that LASWA authorised extra charges on every trip payment at the start of April, when a statewide discount on transport fares ought to be in effect.

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“There is a scam being perpetrated by LASWA. LASWA introduced and mandated the use of only Cowry cards for payment on the waterways on the 1st of April,” Oluwaseun told FIJ on Thursday.

“There was very low sensitisation to this, and then we all got ambushed when the implementation went into full swing on the 2nd of April. A N200 surcharge was introduced for card maintenance and insurance per trip.

“This is more surprising as all other transport systems in Lagos using the card enjoy a 25 percent discount.”

This is one of the several economic and humanitarian measures taken by Lagos State Government to cushion the effects of high cost of living being experienced by the citizens.

— Lagferry (@Lagferry) February 25, 2024

LASWA suddenly added a N200 surcharge to the fares for trips made on the waterways in Lagos on Tuesday.

The state’s waterways authority said that the extra charge was meant for card maintenance and trip insurance. Commuters think otherwise because of the eternal nature of the charge.

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Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) passengers in Lagos told FIJ that there were no extra charges or hikes in transport fares on Friday.

Bimbo Bakare, the public relations officer of the United Waterways Passenger Association (UWPA), released a statement after LASWA’s new Cowry payment policy on Tuesday:

“For ease of comprehension, presently, passengers pay N2,000 in the morning from Ikorodu to Island routes, and in the evenings, N1,800 back to Ikorodu. From about 10 am in the morning, N2,500 is charged for a return boat. With the introduction of Cowry, apart from the N500 one-off purchase of the card, an additional N200 is charged for card maintenance and insurance on a 50/50 basis,” Bakare stated.

“On the return journey in the evenings, LASWA stated that a flat regime of N2,000 is charged henceforth, up from N1,800 and then the additional N200, bringing the cost to N2,200. As such, a round trip will now cost a minimum of N4,400, and in the case of boarding return boats, N4,900. We consider this an attempt to kill the ant with a sledgehammer.

“While meetings continue on a monthly basis, we are convinced that authorities are bent on killing the little gains we have recorded on the waterways.

“We are not confined to the waterways, as options abound. We as an association hereby state that, while engagement continues, there is an urgent imperative by all stakeholders to save the waterways from an impending apathy that will not do any good to any stakeholder.

“We enjoin members to play on the planks of demand and supply to drive home our point that we can’t be fleeced further. It is ludicrous to be paying N200 per day for insurance and the same on card maintenance. We had discussions in the ideation period on the Cowry card dynamics and the issue of maintenance costs. Insurance was never mentioned.

“Is there anything like the maintenance of cards on the BRT mode? The answer is no. So why bring the same on the waterways? Is there an insurance scheme on the BRT? If no, why the waterways? Why not stick with it and ensure that individual boat operators insure their passengers?

“Why must a payment gateway be responsible for that and the cost to passengers’? If BRT users of Cowry cards are not paying for card maintenance, why should ferry users pay?”

Commuters with the UWPA told FIJ that they were not consulted before LASWA implemented the transport fare hike.

They also asked why boat passengers are paying N200 per trip for card maintenance when BRT passengers don’t have to.

The LASWA office did not answer FIJ’s phone calls on Friday. It had not responded to text and email messages at press time.