In the morning hours, people stand at transport stops in Ad-Dweim in White Nile state waiting for buses that may not arrive due to rising fuel prices.
The prices have not only doubled daily travel costs but turned them into open suffering for residents.
Since late March, fuel prices in Ad-Dweim have seen notable increase directly reflected in public transport fares, which rose rapidly across routes in the city and nearby villages. This rise did not stop at transport but extended to prices of essential goods as traders rely on fuel for transportation, leading to higher cost of living.
Monitoring of fuel prices since late March by Atar showed notable rise with increases in stations and volatility between station prices and the parallel market. The price of a gallon of diesel, amid severe shortage, hit 37,000 pounds ($8.94) in some stations from 25.500 pounds ($6.16) while gasoline ranged between 31,000 and 32,000 pounds ($7.49 and $7.73) compared to 26,000 pounds ($6.28) previously, while parallel market gasoline rose to between 40,000 and 45,000 pounds ($9.66 and $10.87).
These fluctuations directly reflected on people’ daily lives, with fuel prices becoming the main topic of discussion amid ongoing swings between increases and instability, resulting in dissatisfaction.
There are daily debates between passengers and rickshaw (tuk-tuk) drivers over fares, amid absence of effective oversight of fuel stations and transport stops.
Residents of Ad-Dweim are demanding unified prices at stations to curb chaos and regulate the market.
Fuel price increases have doubled our daily suffering, especially as we travel often for treatment.
Asia Mohammed, resident of Al-Sufi town and caregiver to a patient
In this context, trader Salah Abdullah Youssef confirmed that fuel increases directly impacted commodity prices, with a 50-kilogramme sack of sugar rising to 170,000 pounds ($41.06) from 155,000 pounds ($37.44), a 20-kilogramme bag of rice hitting 65,000 pounds ($15.70) from 48,000 ($11.59), and a litre of cooking oil increasing to 10,000 pounds ($2.42) from 8,500 ($2.05). The price of charcoal also rose, with a sack priced at 40,000 pounds ($9.66) compared to 34,000 ($8.21) previously, reflecting broader cost pressures on households across the city and surrounding areas overall.
In the carpentry sector, carpenter Musa Abu Kalam noted rising prices, with two-foot timber hitting 8,000 pounds ($1.93) from 6,000 ($1.45), bosnaid sheets at 40,000 ($9.66) from 28,000, and a kilogramme of nails at 12,000 ($2.90) compared to 8,000 ($1.93) previously, signaling continued inflation across the local construction materials market.
Public transport fares inside the city rose from 800 pounds ($0.19) to 1,000 ($0.24), while rickshaw fares increased from 1,000 ($0.24) to 1,500 ($0.36), then 3,000 ($0.72) pounds.
Asia Mohammed, who lives in Al-Sufi town north of Ad-Dweim, says fuel price increases have doubled the family’s daily suffering, especially as they frequently travel to the city for her father’s treatment, adding to their expenses.
She explains that transport fares rose from 15,000 pounds ($3.62) to 20,000 ($4.83) within a short period, creating an additional burden under difficult living conditions.
She says bus drivers justify the fare hikes with rising fuel costs, and notes these increases do not take people’ conditions into account, especially patients and their families who have no choice but to travel for treatment.
Ali Dafallah, who travels daily from Al-Mansoura, southwest of Ad-Dweim, to work in the Ad-Dweim market, says transport fares from his home to the city market have risen from 1,000 pounds ($0.24) to 2,000 pounds ($0.48) on public transport, worsening their hardship and increasing financial strain on low-income earners.
He notes that these increases have negatively affected their daily expenses, stressing that he does not have a stable income, making it difficult to meet basic household needs.
I may spend an entire day waiting just to get one gallon of fuel, and still end up with losses.
Muatassim Mohammed Thani, rickshaw driver
He says the higher fares have also impacted the purchase of essential supplies such as food and medicine, pointing out that some families have been forced to reduce movement as much as possible to cope with the pressure.
Dafallah is calling on the relevant authorities to intensify monitoring of transport stops and prices, ensure drivers adhere to official fares, and protect low-income groups.
Muatassim Mohammed Thani, a rickshaw driver in Ad-Dweim, says securing fuel has become difficult, noting that he may spend an entire day waiting to obtain a single gallon.
“Rickshaw drivers also have family responsibilities, and obtaining fuel requires standing in queues and spending hours. Under these conditions, we incur heavy losses, so we are forced to raise fares,” he said, considering the increase a right to cover operating cost gaps and cope with rising prices.
Thani says many people have opted for public transport and abandoned rickshaws; as a result, rickshaw drivers now have to search for passengers, sometimes moving with only one rider despite a capacity of four, meaning they are incurring losses in all cases.
Khalil Mohammed Ibrahim, another rickshaw driver in Ad-Dweim, notes that he and his colleagues are facing continuous increases in spare parts and engine oil prices, explaining that maintenance and replacement costs have risen significantly in recent times, which has affected drivers’ income.
The sudden rise in transport fares is affecting students, some are missing lectures because they can’t afford to travel.
Muzdalifa Al-Tijani, university student
He says securing fuel has become a major concern for them, as spending long hours in fuel queues results in losing much of the working day without income.
“We do not want to increase people’ suffering, because we are an integral part of them. But at the same time we are under heavy work pressure. The economic conditions have also affected drivers’ families, who in turn complain about inflation and rising living costs,” Khalil said.
Muzdalifa Al-Tijani, a student at Bakht Al-Rida University, says the sudden rise in transport fares has affected the residents broadly, particularly students, especially amid academic obligations and exams.
Al-Tijani notes that price disparities have impacted student mobility, forcing some to reduce travel or miss lectures due to the high costs.
She is calling for stronger oversight of transport stops and regulation of fares, or the distribution of notices clarifying official rates and what must be adhered to, so the matter is not left to drivers’ discretion.
Meanwhile, Fadil Omar, a worker at one of the fuel stations, expressed regret over recent developments, attributing them to what he described as “commercial policies aimed at manufacturing crises and securing quick gains.”
Omar says that, in reality, just one day after fuel prices rose, sugar and flour prices increased rapidly, noting that these hikes place an additional burden on the struggling people.
He adds that some stations have fuel supplies but claim shortages and suspend operations, further worsening the crisis. He opines that the locality needs swift and decisive intervention alongside strict daily monitoring to curb the greed of some traders, so the crisis does not expand and affect other essential goods. He says the sudden disorder has benefited some traders, including station owners and operators of public and long-distance transport vehicles.
Ahmed Al-Tayeb, an academic and economist, says the continued rise in transport fares despite an officially set fuel price stems from a set of overlapping factors, including price asymmetry, where fares increase quickly when costs rise but do not fall at the same pace when costs decline.
Dr Al-Tayeb explained that global oil price volatility and instability in the local currency contribute to higher operating costs, particularly for fuel, spare parts, and oils, a phenomenon he calls imported inflation. He notes that rising non-fuel operating costs such as maintenance, fees, and levies are a key factor in sustaining higher fares even when fuel prices drop, while weak oversight of the transport sector leads to arbitrary pricing and fare disparities between routes, alongside the emergence of exploitative practices.
Al-Tayeb stressed the need to directly link transport fares to fuel prices while updating them regularly, alongside activating field monitoring and tightening penalties on violators. He is calling for supporting public transport, regulating the sector, and reducing levies, in addition to enhancing transparency by publishing official tariffs for citizens and providing effective mechanisms for receiving complaints.
