By Chidi Ugwu
Federal Government through the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGI) on Friday kicked off the enforcement of a 40% reduction In transportation fares on routes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
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Addressing journalists at the Area 1 Motor Park, venue of the launch of the exercise, David Idakwo, Regional CNG Expansion Coordinator in charge of the North, said noted that the reduction resulted from strong collaboration with the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), adding that the 40% reduction In transportation fares applies to routes serviced by vehicles converted to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), made possible through a collaboration between the Presidential CNG Initiative (PCNGI) and the Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
“What we agreed with the National Union of Road Transport Workers, they have given us the prices, the fare amount from Area 1 to different destinations when they were running on petrol and we have come together, made an analysis and achieved a 40 percent reduction in the fare, in the transportation from Area 1 to all other destinations.What I have here on my paper, Area 1 to Gwagwalada when they were on fuel was going for 1,500 Naira, we have been able to reduce it to 900. Area 1 to Bwari Duse is also 1,500, that also has been reduced to 900. Area 1 to Kuje when they were running on petrol is 1,200, that also has been reduced to 720 Naira.Area 1 to Galadimawa was 500, it has been reduced to 300. Area 1 to Mpapa is 1,000, that has been reduced to 600 Naira. Area 1 to Zuba is 1,500 and that also has been reduced to 900 Naira.Area 1 to Lugbe is 700 before now, it is now 420. Area 1 to Jabi is 700, it has also been reduced to 420.
“Area 1 to Wuse was 400 before now, it has gone down to 240.Area 1 to Nyanya was 700 before now, it has gone down to 720. Area 1 to Kabusa is 800 Naira before now, it has been reduced to 480 Naira. Area 1 to Apo was 500 Naira before now, it has been reduced to 300 Naira.So at the moment these are the reductions we have achieved at Area 1 park.
“The reduction project will continue. More cars have been converted and we move from here now.We are going to go to Area 3 where we have also done a reduction of their prices. We are going to go to all other parks within Abuja and eventually the country. Thank you very much.Okay, Area 1 to Nyanya was 700 before now, it has been reduced to 420 Naira”.
He said that so far over 50% of the commercial vehicles in the nation’s capital have been converted to CNG, stressing that more are being converted as the exercise is continuous, assuring that the aim is to cover all vehicles and crash transport fares not only in Abuja, but across the country.
He said; “So I can authoritatively tell you that we have converted over 50 percent of their vehicles and like I said we are doing this in conjunction with leadership and they are here, they are seeing us, they can confirm these figures and the conversion is still a continuous process. It’s not like we are done yet but we will continue. Even right here, we still have our members here taking records of those cars that are yet to be converted and the conversion will continue”.
To ensure full compliance, according the Regional Manager, the PCNGI in collaboration with NURTW have sent out mystery shoppers pretending to commuters along all the designated routes to fish out cheating drivers and report them.
He said that a sticker has been place on each of the vehicles for easy identification, advising commuters to always look out for the sticker before boarding to enjoy the benefits of the initiative.
In his remarks, Ibrahim Jubril, Secretary Garki Branch of NURTW, said the union has been carried along when the programme was launched, stressing that it was all part of efforts of the President to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians with regard to movement from one point to the other.
“As it stands today, a lot of our vehicles have been converted and the conversion is ongoing. When we noticed that majority of our vehicles have been converted, we put a taskforce in place to ensure price reduction for the ones that have been converted” he said.
