Sudanese Workers Face 40% Fare Hikes as Fuel Lines Stretch for Hours
A national fuel shortage has forced a transport union to raise fares and left drivers in Port Sudan earning less than half their daily costs.
By Thiago Kovalenko ·
Azhari Mohamed starts his shift at 6 am, driving a minibus between Shagar and the Port Sudan city center. He repeats this route seven times a day, working until 9 pm. The routine has changed in recent weeks. Mohamed now works two days and spends the third waiting in line for petrol. A single wait can exceed five hours. Sometimes the station runs dry before he reaches the pump, forcing him back to the start of the queue.
His minibus consumes three gallons of petrol daily. At the parallel market rate, that fuel costs 105,000 Sudanese pounds, or $11.30. After paying operating expenses, Mohamed keeps about 50,000 pounds ($5.40) a day. That amount must support his wife and a daughter attending university. "We just need fuel to be available so we can work," he said.
The shortage has driven up prices across the country. A gallon of petrol costs 35,000 pounds ($3.80) in Port Sudan. In Gazira State, south of Khartoum, the price reaches 40,000 pounds ($4.30). In response to rising costs, the Sudan Transport Chambers Union increased fares this month. Intercity bus fares rose by 40%, and minibus fares increased by 30%.
For Aziza Ibrahim, a cleaner in Port Sudan, the fare hike is a direct cut to her income. She supports four children and has reduced her work schedule to three days a week to manage travel expenses. Before the war, her trip to the main city-center station cost 700 pounds ($0.08). Today, fares on various routes range from 2,000 to 2,500 pounds. She spends 11,000 pounds ($1.18) daily for a round trip. Transport now consumes nearly half of her 400,000-pound monthly salary ($43). She also manages the cost of diabetes treatment and sometimes borrows money to get to work, repaying the loan when she receives her pay.
The United Nations Development Programme states that the war has pushed average incomes in Sudan back to levels last seen in the 1990s. The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began on April 15, 2023. Last year, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum valued war-related losses at $20 billion. The World Bank reported that attacks on the Balila oil field disrupted supplies to the Khartoum refinery, a facility that previously met about 60% of national demand for petrol and liquefied petroleum gas.
Sudan now relies on imports to meet its needs. This dependence is difficult during a global fuel crisis that has raised prices for gas, petrol, and diesel. Economic analyst Sidi Ohaj said government rules for importers have worsened the situation. Importers must deposit 200kg of gold in the Central Bank and own fuel storage facilities. Some companies could not meet these requirements and exited the market. "This reduced supply relative to demand," Ohaj said. He added that drone attacks threaten infrastructure and that the war between the United States and Iran is disrupting global energy markets.
Businesses are also absorbing the cost increases. Ahmed al-Haj, a trader in Omdurman market who packages skincare products, said higher diesel and petrol prices have raised the cost of moving a tonne of goods by 30 to 50 percent. He passes this increase on to customers. When power cuts force him to use a fuel-powered generator, his daily costs rise further.
Local deliveries in Omdudman that once cost 5,000 pounds ($0.70) now run 10,000 to 12,000 pounds ($1.07 to $1.29). Reaching customers in other states has become impossible. Al-Haj said transport and distribution workers are making fewer trips, causing goods to pile up at traders' premises.
