Have you noticed how most articles on travel in Nigeria are now tailored to suit travellers who opt for air travel? The decision of these lifestyle magazines, newspapers, and blogs to focus on air travel and snub the wonder of the transportation evolution known as the bus travel, is quite astonishing as more people in Nigeria actually travel by bus rather than flying.
Buses are still a very viable means of transportation and the demand for them is strong. In a bid to turn the tables around, allow us at Jumia Travel, to present the top 5 reasons why traveling by bus is better than flying.
It is cheaper
A number one reason to opt for bus travelling rather than air travel is the price. It is way cheaper to travel by bus than by air. The average price of a domestic flight in Nigeria is N12,000, excluding baggage fees and other miscellaneous charges that seem to sneak up on you when booking air travel, while the average price of domestic bus travel is about N 2,000 for a 5-hour trip.
Sounds better than that airplane ticket, doesn’t it? Again, unlike airlines which try to lure you in with really affordable deals, but ends up killing your extra costs, with buses, what you see is what you get; everything is included in the price you originally paid.
Buses allow for pit stops and sight-seeing
Most flights do not make stops. The only ones that do, do so to drop off passengers who need to connect to another flight. Basically, if you are taking a direct flight, there are no hopes of stopping for a short rest, to stretch, get some fresh air, use an actual bathroom and recharge your batteries by getting some food and hot coffee from a restaurant. Even worse, when you are on the plane, you mostly only see clouds; you don’t get the chance to view the scenery on your path. With bus travel, however, you make pits stops to recharge and you will drive through or near popular landmarks on your path for some spectacular views.
WIDER REACH
The routes available via air travel are limited and you basically can only reach very few destinations directly. For instance, if you are headed for Okada in Edo State and you set out via air, you will have to fly to Benin and still take a taxi or bus to Okada. There are no airports in small towns and you cannot find direct flights. With a motor coach bus, you can easily get to your specific destinations easily with one bus ticket. Almost every city or town in Nigeria has bus stations located at central points
Less chance of cancellation and missing baggage
Baggage handling, which is a big feature of air travelling as passengers are forced to hand over their suitcases before getting on the flight , is not so much of an issue with bus travelling as most passengers in the bus are allowed to take their belonging with them onto the bus and put them in compartments within the bus. This generally reduces the chances of missing luggage. Also, bus as not as affected by climate conditions as airplanes and so a rainy day is hardly a reason for a bus ticket to be cancelled or delayed.
No Need for Advance Planning
With air travel you do not only have to book your ticket early in order to get a great bargain as costs fluctuate and get more expensive as your date of departure draws near, you also have to arrive the airport extra early and check at least an hour before boarding. With buses, however, it is a whole different story. You are still very much likely to get a pretty decent deal even if you buy your ticket a day or two prior to departure. Also, you do not have to check in and sometimes, the bus may even wait for you extra 5-10 minutes for you to arrive before it departs.
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