Every December, Lagos turns into a playground, but if you’ve tried to move around this city during the holidays, you already know the real antagonist of the season is transport. As “Detty December” transforms the city into a nonstop circuit of concerts, beach parties, pop-ups and house parties, ride-hailing and road transport fares begin to behave like they’re part of the nightlife too: unpredictable, inflated and sometimes downright absurd. One minute you’re budgeting for event tickets and outfits, the next your ride-hailing app is asking for 50% of your salary for a 20-minute trip. A trip that costs ₦6,000 in November can suddenly jump to ₦15,000 on a random Thursday night, while simple airport runs start to feel like international travel budgets.

What makes the situation feel especially chaotic is that these price jumps aren’t always tied to rain, traffic, or distance; they’re tied to demand. Ride-hailing apps rely on dynamic pricing algorithms that automatically push fares higher when many people are requesting rides at the same time. Add fuel price hikes, mad traffic, event clusters in places like Lekki and Victoria Island, and a flood of IJGBs who are more willing and able to pay premium prices because it seems cheap in their foreign currency, and Lagos becomes a perfect storm of scarcity and surge, hell for the locals just looking to decompress after surviving the year

This chaos isn’t uniquely Lagosian. Cities like New York, London, Dubai and Mumbai experience similar spikes during peak travel and festival seasons, from New Year’s Eve in Dubai to Christmas in New York and Diwali in Mumbai,  but the difference often lies in structure. In Dubai, holiday fare increases are clearly regulated and announced in advance. Lagos, by contrast, largely leaves passengers to figure it out in real time, turning the simple act of getting home from a concert into a high-stakes financial decision.

For everyday Lagosians, the result is a December where moving around the city starts to feel like a luxury product. Transport stops being a basic service and becomes a gamble: refresh the app, close it, open it again, and wonder if today’s the day you’ll be humbled. So, we asked a few people to share their experiences.

Nancy

Last December, my coworker and I were trying to see how much we’d spent covering events for the past 3 days, and we discovered that we’d blown about N150K on rides alone! Another day, I tried to go to Yaba, a trip that would usually cost N7-8K. On Uber, the fare was N38K, and N40K for Priority. I closed it and opened InDrive; the suggested fare was N27K, and none of the drivers even accepted that. Mind you, this is a trip I’d never taken for more than N10K. I went on Twitter and asked for directions from Ikate to Yaba by public transport, and people gave me their suggestions so I ended up going by bus.

Tomisin

In December 2024, my friends and I were in Yaba and we had a party to attend in VI. Normally, this would cost about N6K, but we checked all the apps and all the fares we saw were outrageous. Last last sha, we chose InDrive and the fare was about N26K. After the party, we spent N21K to go back home. It was so annoying and there was traffic. I kept wondering why there were so many people in Lagos, especially those with police escorts. Why would I have to spend N40K to move around within the state? The most painful part was that the party wasn’t even worth it.

Halima

You know what’s crazy? Once December starts, even before the Detty activities begin in full swing, leaving your house becomes an extreme sport. I avoid stepping out as much as I can because it’s an unspoken rule that no matter where you’re headed, just expect the prices to be insane. Just yesterday, after spending N9K to Yaba and a further N16K to Lekki, the fare to go back home was N21K. Instead, I hitched a ride with someone halfway, then took a bus with a driver I’m 65% sure wasn’t sober. I was just grateful to be home in one piece. 

Olubanke

Last December, my friends and I went from South Socials at VI to Group Therapy at Lekki. That distance would typically have been like N4K, but we paid 15 instead. I felt awful, it honestly didn’t make any sense. It was annoying but thankfully, I’d budgeted for price hikes because I know how these things go, so it wasn’t so crazy.

Damilola

In December 2023, I had a Christmas crossover service in Surulere and then an after-service party in Lekki. Normally, that move shouldn’t be more than like N5-6K. That night, every single app was wild. Bolt was ₦24K. InDrive was suggesting ₦18K and no driver was accepting. I just sat in the church parking lot for almost 45 minutes refreshing apps like a mad person. In the end, I joined two other random girls I met and we split the fare. That was the night I realised that Lagos in December doesn’t respect anybody, even Jesus’ birthday couldn’t save us.