Stakeholders in Borno have commended the State Government’s sustained intervention for subsidised transport system to cushion the hike in transport fare following the removal of fuel subsidy.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with the removal of fuel subsidy, the state government through the state owned Borno Express Corporation deployed 154 vehicles comprising 50 electric cars, 44 luxurious buses and 60 coaster buses to provide subsidised services to commuters in Maiduguri and environs.
The vehicles convey passengers at the price of N50 per drop for buses and N100 per drop for electric taxis as against N150 or N200 per drop being charged by other operators.
The vehicles inaugurated by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu in December when he visited Maiduguri are said to be servicing an estimated 3.6 million passengers monthly at the rate of between 120,000 to 130,000 passengers daily.
Mallam Mohammed Dahaya, the Borno Coordinator of Special Marshal, said the intervention by the state government was a big relief to commuters, particularly workers and students who heavily depended on the buses to enable them to go to work or school.
“In Borno, Zulum administration was proactive in providing the buses following the removal of fuel subsidy.
“With the subsidised buses servicing between 120,000 to 130 000 people daily, many commuters are able to go to work and come back home for just N100 or N200 instead of spending between N500 to N1,000.
“We need to commend the Borno Government for this gesture; if you look at the cost of diesel and petrol, you ‘ll realise that the government is not making any monetary profit from this intervention,” Dahaya said.
Ibrahim Aliyu, a student of Borno State University, said that with the availability of the buses, he spend only N300 taking three drops daily to and from school as against N1,000.
Hafsat Musa, a civil servant, said by patronising the bus, she is now spending N100 only.
“I just enter the bus for N50 to work at the state secretariat from Bulumkutu area and return back after work using the bus at the cost of N50,” Musa said.
Musa Abdullahi, who works at the Federal Secretariat, said that the cost of petrol had forced him and many others to park their cars and now rely solely on the subsidized buses.
“With the recent scarcity in Maiduguri, petrol in most filling stations if available is now N900 to N1,000 per litre.
“I am compelled with many other workers to park our cars and depend on the bus which is a cheaper alternative,” Abdullahi said.
Ezekiel Zira, Maryam Ibrahim, and Danladi Mohammed who are traders in Maiduguri Central Market, said they spend only N100 daily using the buses. (NAN)
By Yakubu Uba
