Despite President Bola Tinubu’s direction that transport costs should begin to decline from October 1 with the introduction of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses, commuters in numerous states continue to pay the same and in some cases higher fees. Government
However, PUNCH says that findings across the states yesterday showed the presidential decree had yet to result in substantial reductions in transit fares.
While several state governments have rolled out schemes for subsidised or free CNG-powered transport, the efforts are limited in coverage, leaving millions of commuters dependent on commercial buses whose operators continue to deal with high fuel, spare parts and maintenance costs.
Transport unions in different states reported they had not received CNG buses, while motorists complained of poor infrastructure, including lack of refuelling facilities and conversion centers.
The scenario was more clear in Enugu, Anambra, Delta, Imo, Sokoto, Kebbi, Jigawa, Gombe, Edo, Plateau, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ogun states, as inspections showed that fares still remained virtually unchanged as the deadline of October 1 took effect.
President Bola Tinubu had on September 19, urged state governments to ensure that savings from cheaper CNG-powered transport will be passed on to Nigerians in the form of reduced rates by October 1.
Tinubu made the accusation in a statement to inform Nigerians on the National Affordable CNG Transit Program, which was formed following his meeting with the 36 state governors on August 27.
The goal, he said, is for more Nigerians to begin seeing “measurable reductions in transport costs” beginning October 1, in line with the governors’ agreement. Africans & Diaspora
“I urge all states to maintain the momentum to October 1. Consult with the transport unions and commercial operators. Support Fleet Conversion and Deployment.
“Provide the infrastructure that is required. “Most importantly, ensure that savings from cheaper energy are passed on to Nigerian citizens in the form of lower fares.”
President stated some states are already experiencing reduction in transport fares through CNG-powered and electric buses.
Some states including Borno, Kaduna, Zamfara and Ebonyi have commenced the reduction of transport fares with the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas and electric vehicles’, Ismaeel Ahmed, Chairman, Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles told our correspondent yesterday.
He also revealed that several lines had seen fare cuts before the Federal Government’s October 1 deadline.
In response to our results Ahmed said: “1 October was not a deadline for all states to implement fare reductions at the same time, rather the date from which the federal government would start monitoring the rollout across the country.
The president and governors sat down on August 27 to commit to deepening the use of alternative fuel cars, that is CNG and electric vehicles, in different parts of the country,” he said.
The federal government has made a lot of investments in infrastructure and equipment in the previous three years and he the President even allowed the governors to make a promise to do their own share at the sub-national level and that’s what the governors have done. “So the price fare reduction has already started happening in different routes, but of course the 1st of October is not a day that, it’s not a be-all date that everything would happen at the same time, no.
Ahmed said the federal government will also monitor fare reductions where CNG and electric vehicles were being used.
It is a date that we will begin to monitor the beginning of the reduction of fare in routes that are using CNG and EV in different states and as of now I can tell you for free that in Abuja, in the last two, three years, we have been using CNG buses in different high-traffic routes like from the Federal Secretariat to Gwagwalada to Kubwa and everywhere. Tomorrow, if you go and check on a CNG bus, you will discover that the fare cut is much lower.’
He said Lagos has also started to increase the use of CNG buses after the donation of 20 CNG buses to the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.
“In Lagos we just donated about 20 CNG buses to LAMATA to start using as operators to start cutting down the fare prices in between Lagos and Ibadan and so on within Lagos and other areas also.
Ahmed said Kaduna also witnessed huge reductions in fares in the last two years after introducing CNG buses.
He said Zamfara has flagged off 100 electric taxis while Ebonyi was offering free transit for specific categories of residents.
“Zamfara just launched their electric vehicles, 100 taxis, their fares are reduced drastically. Ebonyi are using their buses, no charge for civil personnel and students. “We are trying to see how do we bring that to the wider public,” Ahmed stated.
He also mentioned the fare reduction in Borno State where electric vehicles were being used to provide transit at much lower prices.
“They are using EVs in Borno and they are charging about 15 Naira as against about 200 to 500 Naira for each trip,” he claimed.
Ahmed said the federal government knows the effort has not reached all corners of the country, but will continue to boost the usage of alternative fuel cars.
So, there are a lot of stories all across the country but it’s not everywhere yet but it is a beginning. What the President said is, we would start fare reduction by 1st of October and God willing, we are going to keep following that up to make sure that we deepen it that it infects every town and every heavy traffic corridors.”
But this newspaper’s research found that a handful of governments still hadn’t adopted the reduced fare directive. Articles
Transport prices were not increased in Anambra State on October 1, as travellers paid N700 from Upper Iweka to Oba and around N2,000 from Awka to Onitsha.
Some drivers said they were ignorant about the federal government’s CNG buses, while petrol stations in the state were apparently not working.
“We cannot reduce fares because of the high cost of spare parts and bad roads,” a commercial transport operator, Uche Daniel, said.
“Even the CNG buses cannot reduce the transport fare due to bad roads, which make our vehicles faulty and we have to go a long distance to our destination as we avoid bad roads and delays in areas where roads are being repaired,” he said.
Daniel also said the First Niger Bridge had been closed, forcing motorists to ply the inner roads that were in bad shape.
Operators of transport services in Delta State also told PREMIUM TIMES that tariffs have not been reduced.
Only five branded CNG buses were seen parked at the Commissioner for Transport lodge in Asaba.
Chairman of the NURTW Summit Motor Park, Asaba, Mr. Emeka Okoro, said the union had not received any CNG buses and hence had not cut its fares.
“They have not given us any buses and we have not lowered transport fare. “We cannot reduce the fare of transport when the cost of buying fuel is still high,” he remarked.
Okoro said the government needed to tackle fuel prices and make sure transport unions and drivers had access to CNG-powered cars.
The scenario was not different in Imo State as commercial transporters said they were yet to receive Federal Government CNG buses.
But the All Progressives Congress spokesman in the state, Jones Onwuasoanya, said the president’s plan was on course, adding that the state had started receiving CNG vehicles. But checks by our correspondent at key motor parks indicated that transport rates were still high.
One of the drivers stated a trip from Owerri to Akokwa was N4,500 while Owerri to Awka was as much as N9,000.
“We have not seen anybody in Imo, there is no CNG bus. Imagine you paid N4, 500 from Owerri to Akokwa and you paid N9, 000 from Owerri to Awka. These stores expanded by 50 per cent. “The President has to bring down the price of fuel and stop all this unrealistic talk about CNG,” he remarked.
Another driver, Emeka, challenged the extent of the program, noting that the transport system of the state was primarily driven by private bus owners.
“Have we also discussed the modalities of operation? Private bus owners operate Imo State. These are things to ponder. He said: “The Federal Government is likely to reduce pump price.
Similarly, the fares of travel in Sokoto and Kebbi states remained unaltered.
At the Central Motor Park, Sokoto, passengers going to Kebbi were still paying between N5,000 and N6,000 while trips to Kano or Kaduna were about N20,000 on commercial cars.
The travel from Kebbi to Sokoto still cost roughly N5,000 on private buses but N3,500 on the same route on state-owned transport vehicles.
State-owned services did give some relief through lower tickets, but their limited coverage meant that most passengers still had to rely on commercial carriers.
“I am disappointed that fares have not dropped,” people said in Dutse, Jigawa State.
But passengers at Dutse Central Motor Park and Shuwarin Motor Park stated the fares were not hiked.
A passenger to Kano, Isa Hamisu, said: “They told us fare will come down October 1. Today I’m buying Kano for N3,500 just like previous week. No change. “I don’t know which one is a CNG bus.
Another commuter, Abba Garba, said the ticket to Hadejia remained at N5, 000.
But the NARTO state Chairman in Jigawa, Bello Usman Dunaro, said the union had received government backing under the CNG scheme.
“Under the initiative from the government, we had about 100 vehicles converted to CNG. It aims at reducing the fares of travel for the people. “We’re still working on it,” he replied.
Passengers in Gombe State also complained of no fare reduction on routes run by the state transport service and private businesses.
Naomi Sambo, a passenger, said she was expecting the intervention of the Federal Government to result in a reduction in fares.
The transportation to Abuja remains what it has always been. I came to pick up a bus expecting to see some adjustments. That’s what they said in the newspaper.” she said.
The fare to Kaduna, another traveller, Murtala Sabo, said, remained unchanged.
The Managing Director of Gombe State Transport Service, Dr Sani Sabo said the agency was researching options to avoid rates from becoming higher and was working on switching some of its vehicles to CNG.
Transport fares in Edo State have also not altered.
Short distance trips in Benin cost between N200 and N300 whereas longer trips cost between N500 and N600. Even the vehicles converted to CNG had not been decreased in fare.
High spare parts costs and poor gas infrastructure were cited by a transport union official.
Some buses had to sit in queue for hours, sometimes days, to fill up with petrol’, he claimed.
But the Edo State administration claimed it would roll out 50 52-seater CNG buses later in the month.
Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Kassim Afegbua said the buses would be shared to the three senatorial districts based on the strength of commuters.
Once the passengers are given the option of cheaper rates from the CNG buses, other transporters would be pushed to cut down their fares, he said.
Next month we are also launching our own CNG and we have more than fifty 52 seater CNG buses. The distribution will be based on the number of commuters in the three senatorial districts. “If passengers can get cheaper rates from the CNG, then other transporters will also have to reduce their fares,” he said.
Even as government owned CNG buses plied the roads, commuters still grappled with high prices in Enugu State.
The buses charge a flat rate of N300 but their limited routes and hours have hampered their impact. For example, the distance between Emene and Old Park in Enugu metropolis is N600 on ordinary commercial buses, but N300 on government CNG buses.
except the CNG buses operate largely on the key routes during the morning and evening times, leaving commuters with little option except to patronise more expensive commercial vehicles outside those periods.
The state government had launched 100 CNG mass transit buses a year ago out of an acquisition plan of 200 units but it was not known if the remaining buses had been bought.
A state representative of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria stated the union was not told about the reduced fares promised by the president. Africans & Diaspora
Attempts to reach the state commissioners for Information and Transport were fruitless.
In Kaduna State, commuters have been given some respite on chosen routes where the government has run a free mass transit service fuelled by CNG. But fares for business transport outside the CNG network are still exorbitant.
They said that a ride from Kawo to Kasuwa which used to be less than N300, now costs about N500 in commercial cars and Kasuwa to Sabon Tasha also cost about N500.
The state government had deployed 100 CNG buses and the buses had ferried nearly 3.2 million people in their first year, saving commuters more than N3.5bn in transport costs.
Kaduna State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmed Maiyaki, said the state still remain the only state that is giving free mass transit services fuelled by CNG.
He said the plan ran on eight routes, with 100 buses and around 200 bus stops.
But locals said the benefit only applied to travellers who could get to the authorised routes.
Transport fares in Jos, Plateau State, likewise stayed unaltered even with the October 1 instruction.
CNG buses were not yet running in the state and government-owned metro bus continued to charge N200.
Another resident, Moses Gyang, said he paid N1,000 from Bukuru to Terminus, same amount he paid before October 1.
But the Commissioner for transit, Davou Jatau, said Plateau had gone beyond the Federal Government’s instruction with its subsidised transit system.
He said government-supported buses moved roughly 13,000 commuters everyday at N200, against more than N500 charged by commercial operators.
He said the state was also partnering with the National Institute of Transport Technology, Zaria to develop a center for conversion of CNG and hybrid vehicles in Jos.
Referring to the CNG effort, he said it was one of the issues faced by the government in which there was no refuelling station.
Commercial transport fares also stayed the same in Ondo, although no CNG buses were sighted running in the state.
A cab driver stated he did not know of any CNG buses being deployed and wondered how rates could be decreased while petrol was still pricey.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Transport, Muyiwa Ogunyemi, however, said the state was working on CNG conversion centers and more petrol outlets.
In Osun State, transport fares in the city and inter-state did not alter.
The state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said the state was still expecting the CNG buses promised by the federal government.
The state’s severe financial circumstances had also made it difficult for them to provide quick subsidised transit, he said.
“The federal government promised us CNG buses, but so far we haven’t received any. We are aware that with the intervention of the President to cut down transportation expense, Osun will have her fair portion of CNG.”
Fares on all the major routes in Ibadan, Oyo State, remained the same as the rates imposed after the petrol price hike.
For instance, the fare from Ojoo to Mokola was N600 as against N500 before the new hike in gas price while the fare from Ojoo to Iwo Road was between N400 and N500.
Passengers reported they hadn’t noticed any fare changes yet.
“President Bola Tinubu said October 1, and today is that day,” claimed dealer Bisi Ogunade. We’ll see from this weekend if the president was lying or not. But to-day I got on at the same price.” Government
There was also no quick reduction of fares in Ogun State.
The fare between Kuto and Ijebu Ode was fixed at N3,500, irrespective of whether the vehicle was CNG or petrol-powered. Kuto to Ita Oshin is between N600 and N700 while Kuto to Sagamu was N2,000 and beyond.
A driver told the commission that it was hard to cut charges because of growing fuel prices, maintenance costs and the general cost of living.
Kayode Akinmade, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the Governor of Ogun State, said the state administration would soon issue a formal statement on its reaction to the presidential instruction.
“Today (Thursday) is still October 1st and a public holiday, but in the days to come, the state government, in addition to actions taken in the past, will reveal its interventions that are to help cushion the situation.”
For now, Nigerians are still waiting for the promised cut in transport rates.
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