The Nation Newspaper

Tag: transportation

  • Easing rural transportation in Plateau

    Easing rural transportation in Plateau

    For residents of Southern Plateau, the problem of moving from one point to the other is over. Before now, they found it difficult to move to other parts of the area or evacuate their goods to the city due to lack of government-owned vehicles, a situation private commercial vehicle owners cashed in on to exploit the people.

    This situation had been a source of worry to the local government authorities. Happily, the Chairman of Shendam Local Government Area, Dr. Kemi Nicholas Nshe had provided some buses and taxis in order to lessen the suffering of the rural dwellers.

    With a distance of about 300 kilometers to Jos, the state capital, residents of the six local government areas that constitute Southern Plateau had been at the mercy of private commercial operators who cashed in on the absence of government-owned buses to exploit them.

    As a result of this, it was difficult for them to get to the state capital at will. Plateau South comprises six local government namely Shendam, Quan-Pan, Mikang, Wase, Langtang South and Langtang North local government areas.

    Investigation by our correspondent revealed that most of these local government areas could not venture into transport business to alleviate the suffering of people of the zone due to lack of adequate resources.

    According to Timothy Nyelong, a resident of Shendam Village, the major problem of the people in the area is lack of means of transportation to Jos.

    “Most of us need to get to our state capital to carry out one transaction or the other in the state capital. In most cases, we do that with tears because the private commercial vehicles owners charge exorbitant transport fare, and we have no option than to allow them exploit us. We have been praying for government’s intervention in this area,” he said.

    On why the local government had to purchase the buses and taxis, Dr. Nshe said: “We took up the challenge to purchase these buses because we are conscious of the sufferings of our people in the area of transportation. We find it very essential to intervene because the state government had constructed many roads in the Southern zone, especially in Shendam and all other local government areas in the zone.

    “Unfortunately, private commercial vehicle owners are exploiting our people. So, the only solution to that is for us to complement the efforts of the state government by procuring buses and taxis for commercial purposes. We aim at subsidising the fares.

    “By so doing, we would have forced down the high rate of fares our people usually pay. In other words, my administration is making efforts to key into the massive transformation agenda of the state government. We have to adopt the state government’s development plan, replicate it at the grassroots so that dividends of democracy will transcend down to the rural dwellers.”

    Continuing, he said: “The people of Shendam are full of gratitude to the redemption agenda of Governor Jonah Jang. Our local government area is wearing a new look due to some infrastructural projects provided by the state government in our locality. The township roads, the expansion of rural roads and the construction of new ones are some of these projects the state government had executed in our area.

    “So, all I have to do is to complement these efforts by the launch of these buses so that our people can benefit from the massive road constructions carried out by Governor Jang.”

    While inaugurating some tricycles which were distributed to youths of the local government, the chairman said it was a deliberate effort of the council to empower youths of the area in order to reduce rate of unemployment.

    He said: “We have teeming unemployed youths here. So, we have to create a means to make the youth productive and useful to themselves and the society. We are beginning with 20 tricycles in the first phase. We will follow it up with more tricycles in the second phase of the youth empowerment scheme.”

    Also speaking, Special Assistant to Governor Jang on Shendam Local Government Affairs, Isaac Aliyu said: “With the inauguration of these vehicles, Dr. Nshe has, again, proved that he is a truly committed, sincere and dedicated redemption team member.

    “His adoption of the transformation agenda of Governor Jang stands him out as a rural transformer. If the council boss continued this way, Shendam will take the lead among the 17 local government areas in Plateau State as a people-oriented leader.”

  • These are mad dogs

    These are mad dogs

    Public transportation in Lagos metropolis has remained a major source of concern for successive administrations in the state. With a population estimated at close to 20 million most of who reside in the metropolis, moving from one point to another could be hellish especially at peak periods of the day.

    And to ease the pain commuters go through on the road while they pursue their daily bread, the state government has over the years put several schemes in place especially with regards to public transportation.

    Gone are the moving ‘coffins’ called Molue buses that used to typify public transport in the emerging mega city, replaced by BRT buses that provide reasonable comfort for the commuters. And to make the BRT buses attractive dedicated lanes were created by the government to allow these buses move unhindered and unaffected to a large extent by the ‘crazy’ Lagos traffic.

    These dedicated corridors called BRT lanes, crisscrossing the major roads in the city, are forbidden to every other road user and violators face certain punishment according to the law setting up the scheme.

    The novel idea which began about a decade or so ago has brought huge relief to commuters especially the car owners who have been lured away from putting their cars on the road all the time, thus reducing the number of vehicles on Lagos roads especially during peak periods. The success so to speak must have encouraged the government into putting more of these buses on the road as well as opening up more BRT routes.

    Considering the assertion by some that Lagos perhaps harbor the worst set of drivers anywhere in the world, seeing the BRT lanes empty while there is a heavy traffic jam on the other lanes gives one the joy that most Nigerians are law abiding and self respecting. However there is a tiny few who have chosen to disobey the law. Among them unfortunately are those people entrusted with the maintenance of law and order.

    Our law enforcement agents are the number one law breakers in this country and I stand to be corrected. They are closely followed by those so called VIPs whom late Afro beats legend Fela Anukulapo-Kuti rightly called Vagabonds In Power. They see themselves as super Nigerians, superior to the rest of us. To them, the laws are meant for the rest of us to obey. They make the laws; they break the laws, but we must obey.

    Every little traffic congestions you hear their drivers blowing the siren to clear the road for them to go. They always want to have the right of way, even driving against the traffic. To them in Lagos, the BRT lanes are legitimate routes, as long as they get to their destinations at their own time.

    Among this class of lawless Nigerians, especially here in Lagos unfortunately are a few members of our armed forces, including the police. Not contented with having a free ride on commercial buses (you ask them for transport fare at your own peril), these uniformed personnel (I must confess they are mostly Non-Commissioned Officers) always want to be given the right of way every time they are on the road even when they were wrong, and any argument with them could attract a slap, a punch, a severe beating with belt or horsewhip, or even you being hit with the butt of their gun. If you are lucky to escape you go home and lick your wounds. Complaining to their superior officers could be a waste of time and even dangerous as ones woes are likely to be compounded with more punishment. So Nigerians, I mean the rest of us have learnt to avoid them at least here in Lagos. But what do you do when they thrust themselves on your path and you can’t avoid a clash with them?

    This was the situation last Friday in Lagos when two soldiers on a motor bike decided to disobey the law by riding on the BRT lane on the ever busy Ikorodu road. There are different versions of what actually happened. While one account had it that the soldiers were knocked down by a BRT bus and one of them died in the process, another said the soldiers were riding their bike on top speed and ran into a BRT bus that broke down about two days earlier and had been abandoned on the BRT lane. There were other versions, but one thing was common to all of them, a soldier riding a bike died while on collision with a BRT bus on a BRT dedicated lane. What happened afterwards was beyond imagination.

    Some soldiers from the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army descended on Ikorodu Road and unleashed mayhem on motorists and passersby around Palm Groove area. Their targets were the BRT buses and no fewer than four of them were burnt down to avenge the death of their colleague which they blamed on the driver of a BRT bus. In addition, camera phones, I-pads of people who attempted to record the reign of terror by the soldiers were seized and smashed. Some were even roughened up.

    While the mayhem lasted, the few policemen around folded their arms and watched the show of terror by the irate soldiers. Some reports say that the soldiers were egged on by a senior officer who felt the only way they could avenge the death of their colleague or get recompense for the injury their colleague suffered was to destroy public property.

    While the action of the soldiers is totally condemnable, equally worthy of total condemnation was the attempt by the Minister of State for Defense, Musiliu Obanikoro, a Lagos indigene to exonerate the soldiers blaming instead, the usual suspect, Area boys.

    For far too long, the officers and men of our armed forces have seen themselves as being above the law and have been conducting themselves as such. No society that prides itself as being a democracy would tolerate such disdain for the law by those who are supposed to ensure adherence to the law. The soldiers wouldn’t continuously do things like this if such had been severely punished in the past, but unfortunately the military high command seems to be tolerant of such practices by its officers and men.

    Recourse to self help is not the prerogative of uniformed armed men alone, if this acts by a few bad eggs in our armed forces are not checked and punished, what stops others either in uniform or not from avenging whatever wrong they have suffered in the hands of (who knows who) by taking out their anger on the general public.

    The ‘Unknown Soldiers’ that burnt down Fela’s Kalakuta Republic during General Olusegun Obasanjo regime in the late 70s are yet to be identified and punished, so also were the ‘Mad Dogs’ in the Nigerian Air force that assaulted late Bashorun MKO Abiola under the military dictatorship of General Ibrahim Babangida. The soldiers that burnt down the police barracks at Surulere, Lagos are yet to be identified. For how long shall we continue to harbor these mad dogs in our military? It is about time they are shown the way out. Enough is enough.

     

     

     

  • Students seek Fed Govt, states,’ councils’ collaboration on transportation

    The six winners of the 2013 Be Road Friendly (BRF) competition have  praised the Lagos State government for organising the contest aimed at exposing children in primary, junior and senior secondary schools to road safety.

    Speaking on behalf of others on their  arrival from a seven-day tour of the United Kingdom, Oluwabunmi Akinnagbe of the Lagos State Senior Model College, Igbokuta, Ikorodu, a Lagos suburb,  praised the government for improving transportation.

    She said the only way Nigeria can replicate what obtains in London where there is seamless inter-connectivity of people is for the Federal and State governments to cooperate to improve transportation.

    Akinnagbe appealed to the various tiers of government to cooperate with one another to alleviate the sufferings of the people and provide them with effective transportation.

    While praising Governor Babatunde Fashola, for the on-going construction of the 27 kilometre Blue Line rail system from Okokomaiko to Marina, she said the rail would move many people at the same time, increase economic activities, improve the better living conditions of the people and reduce traffic congestion.

    The winners travelled to the United Kingdom  on May 10 and returned on May 16. They visited the London Department for Transport (DFT), London Transport Museum among other places.

  • ‘Transportation, telecom’ll drive Delta economy’

    Businessman and governorship aspirant in the 2015 gubernatorial election in Delta State, Tony Prest, has said investments in the transportation and telecommunication sector will drive Delta State economy outside oil.

    Addressing reporters during his volunteer recruitment exercise at Warri North and Ethiope East Local Government Area, he noted that it is time to beam the searchlight on other sectors other than oil.

    Prest added that when transportation and telecommunication systems are efficient, they provide economic and social opportunities and benefits that result in positive multiplier effects such as better accessibility to markets, employment and additional investments.

    He described transportation and telecommunication as important social and environmental load, which cannot be neglected. “Thus, from a general standpoint the economic impacts of transportation and telecommunication cannot be overlooked in the development of Delta State.

    “We will provide metro rail system for commuting and also ensure the full development of River Niger as a Port, which has not only economic but historical significance to the Delta people. This will also generate ancillary economic spin offs, which are attendant to port development.

    “We will develop rail line services crisscrossing the state, to facilitate transportation of goods and passengers and thereby enhance commercial and business activities. We also revamp Delta State Transport Service to provide affordable transport for the movement of goods and passengers,” Prest added.

    He said his administration will make Delta the most Information Communication Technology (ICT) enabled state in Nigeria by laying fibre optic cables all over the main cities and automatically make land line local phone calls cheap with attendant benefits on communication, trade and commerce.

    “Subsidised Wireless Internet Hotspots will be created in all the major cities thereby giving access to a wide group of Delta residents and indigenes to the internet with its attendant effect on information gathering and sharing and development of knowledge economy,” he stressed.

  • ‘Embrace bicycle transportation’

    ‘Embrace bicycle transportation’

    The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed has called on the residents of the territory to embrace the use of bicycle as a mode of transportation to improve their health and well-being.

    Mohammed gave the advice while receiving some cyclists from the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) who paid him an advocacy visit as part of the activities marking the maiden edition of the National Cycling Week

    The minister, who was represented at the occasion by the Secretary of FCT Transportation Secretariat, Jonathan Ivoke Achara, lauded this initiative by the FRSC as it would improve the traffic situation in the Federal Capital City, especially at peak hours.

    He reiterated that the bicycle remains one of the few modes of transportation with double-barrel advantages of improving one’s health as well as being cost effective.

    His words: “The bicycle represents an affordable means of transportation that improves health, reduces pollution, recovers public space, quicker in traffic congestion-prone routes and reduces cost of transportation”.

    He praised the FRSC for spearheading the reawakening of the use of bicycle and directed the FCT Transportation Secretariat to ensure that all designated pedestrian and bicycle lanes in the Federal Capital City are well delineated to encourage the riders.

    The minister at the occasion had a test ride around the premises of the FCT Administration.

     

  • ‘We have transformed transportation in Katsina’

    ‘We have transformed transportation in Katsina’

    Alhaji Gambo Abdulkadir Rimi is the Chief Operating Officer of the Katsina State Transport Authority. In this interview, he explains the challenges and achievements of the authority.

    How has it been managing the Katsina State Transport Authority?

    When we took over the management of the authority in 2009, there were fewer than 25 operational vehicles which were even vehicles inherited from Kaduna State in 1987 when the state was created. Most of the vehicles were in terrible state when we took over. We could not even pay salaries shortly after we came in. We could only manage to pay junior staff and much later pay senior staff. The first few things we did with the support of our governor, was to get brand new vehicles, 20 of them. Also, the governor was giving the authority minimum of N100million capital every year in order to increase the quality of service we were rendering the public. And so as soon as we stabilised, we started buying one vehicle every month from revenue generated, till now we have not deviated from buying. We are having more than 124 vehicles in our fleet. It has become a policy in the company that a vehicle must be bought every month. Now there is virtually no part of the north, including Abuja that does not benefit from our services. We go on international routes, which is Maradi in Chad. Before now, we do not operate to more than Abuja, Sokoto, Kaduna and Kano. What we first did as soon as the board was inaugurated by the governor was to say that all the 19 northern states must have a feel of Katsina transport which we have successfully done. We have also introduced town service bus. Until now, the only means of transportation within the city was Achada which you called Okada. You can imagine an old man or woman, pregnant women on bike. We decided to introduce those buses because, beyond the services we are now rendering, the action has also eliminated that aspect of accident which we all know is most associated with Okada. Now these buses cover the main towns in the state. All you need do now is walk to your bus stop and you are sure of going with any one that comes around. We started with about five vehicles, now we have about 40 designated for this purpose. We have also opened sub stations in seven local government areas in the state. Before now, all the commuters, irrespective of where they are, must come to Katsina town, the state capital, before they can board any of the vehicles. So, from the sub stations, you can now board vehicles going outside the state. You do not need to come to Katsina before you can get to Kaduna, Sokoto or Abuja. Be it in Daura, Funtua, you will always get vehicles going outside the state. There are also the student buses. The Marcopollo brand bus is dedicated to the students, from secondary to tertiary institution students, with just N20 as fare. We also introduced car hire services. We discovered that some prominent sons and daughters of the state, having flown from wherever to Katsina, the issue of getting to their village became a problem. We decided to buy brand new Kia Salon cars for that purpose. They have numbers of that section of the service such that you can call from any part of the country and they will be right there for you. There is also the bus hire service which is for mass activities. You may be doing wedding, holiday, condolences, any event for that matter, and you will need to convey people from one point to the other, this is where these busses, some air-conditioned, some ordinary, come handy. The difference in these busses is that unlike other vehicles, these ones are painted in white. The idea is that you know there are some areas where painted vehicles are not allowed to come in, or some do not even like it painted as they would not want to arose any suspicion that it is commercial. All you need do is give them a call and their services will be made available.

    How is patronage with those innovations?

    This has been exceptionally good. Eighty per cent of passengers in Katsina patronise Katsina transport because it is the cheapest. And that is why some of the passengers come as early as 5.30am because if you don’t come early, there is every possibility that you may leave late. Our fares are 40 per cent cheaper than any other one, both within the state and outside. We are a pride to the North.

    Any plan for insurance for both the drivers and passengers?

    That is one of the reasons our patronage is very high. Everybody is insured, including the vehicles. There is no vehicle of Katsina Transport you see on the road or the passengers in it that are not insured. The least any member of deceased can get here is N250, 000. You can do your findings and see which other transport company does as much as that. This is just the beginning of better things to come from this management. When you have a supportive governor who monitors your activities daily, coupled with dedicated staff, you don’t have any reason to fail. Tell me which state government controlled transport authority has as many as functioning vehicles we have? Tell me how many of them insure their staff, customers and even the vehicles? We are pacesetters in this area throughout the country. There are still more innovations that you shall be experiencing in the coming months.

    What was the staff strength before the inauguration and what is it now?

    At the inception, we employed more than 80 drivers. There used to be drivers without vehicles, yet they were being at the end of the month. That meant that they were just collecting salaries for nothing. Again, to increase our efficiency, unlike before where all you need to do to get a job was a piece of paper from somebody, we stopped all that. We engaged a retired Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) as consultant to recruit these drivers such that we even divided them into two – the commercial and the executive. The executives are those driving the car hired service while the commercial handle the general service. Now, all our drivers go on every six month’retraining to be in tune with driving etiquettes and things like that.

    It is compulsory, every six months, you must be available for the retraining.

  • Restoring sanity to Delta’s transportation

    Restoring sanity to Delta’s transportation

    As a resident in Delta, one development that has impressed me greatly is transport. The administration of Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan has no doubt given transportation uncanny attention deserving of some mention. Part of this transformation agenda has made Delta Line buses with its white and blue colour a common feature in towns and villages of Delta State and many cities in Nigeria. This leads me to conclude that across Nigeria, Delta state comes tops in such well organized, integrated transportation structure with public buses almost outnumbering privately operated buses.

    Because of what I observed, I decided to research further the extent and impact of Delta government transport policy. The intervention in transportation by the government of Uduaghan became prominent in 2008, with the establishment of Delta state urban mass transit scheme when Governor Uduaghan launched 168 brand new Toyota Corolla cars. Some of the Toyota set of cars were given out to interested drivers as part of government empowerment program; others were allocated to Delta Line Transport Company for commercial purposes.

    In 2009 and 2010, the state government further increased the fleet with the purchase and commissioning of 100 and 200 number brand new Hiace buses. This holistic approach in transportation should be recognized as a major infrastructure development, a critical component of the three-point agenda of Uduaghan administration. It is also a demonstration of the Delta administration’s total commitment to opening up the state to attract tourist and investors.

    By the acquisition of 800 vehicles, comprising Hiace buses, Toyota taxi cars and Marcopolo buses, the governor has stemmed the hitherto crisis that greeted the transport sector during the deregulation of the petroleum downstream sector early 2012.

    Similarly, in marine transportation, hundreds of 19U speed boats have been acquired, while several jetties have been built in the coastal communities. Over 21 of such landing jetties were provided between 2008 and 2010 fiscal year. The Delta publics, who are mainly the beneficiaries, have shown great enthusiasm and gratitude to their loving governor for this intervention, particularly, with the regulated fare. The downward review of the fares has had tremendous impact as it has put private operators in check.

    In a random poll which I conducted across Delta state over several months. I found many respondents reacting differently to the state government’s programme especially after the introduction of tricycles, popular called Keke, in addition to the buses and the regulated use of motorcycle in certain communities in Delta communities.

    For example when I spoke with a tricycle operator in Asaba, the state capital, Jonathan Ator, believes that the regime of tricycles and buses have been very beneficial to both the operators and commuters. To the operators, it has restored sanity in the sector and reduced frequent accidents occasioning limbs and leg fractures. “I feel a lot safer driving my tricycle, and the daily turnover is mouth watering”, says the unemployed Sociology graduate who prefers it to Okada for the safety it offers. Another commuter, this time a house wife and civil servant, Ruth Okuns, said, even though, it is yet to reach the door steps of many homes, it guarantees more safety for her and her little kids who daily employ the services of tricycle for school runs. She commended Uduaghan’s initiative in this direction. Jaros Jarikre, who combines work and schooling and traverses Asaba where he works and Abraka, his school location, described the revolution as God’s intervention. A ride to Abraka from Agbor, he said, is one of comfort. “All of us on this route have called the bluff of these shylock private operators, which hitherto have made travelling a nightmare. At the moment, those private buses hardly exist. I doubt if they still exist.

    Deacon Aburi Adams, said members of the public have embraced the revolution as society and government is dynamic. There is nothing wrong with the innovation; he lauded the state government for its policy directives in the transport sector, describing it as wonderful. However, he called on the government to make the roads more motorable, so that more tricycles can reach the door steps of the commuters.

    A public analyst in Warri, the commercial city of Delta State, Richards Achums described the Uduaghan revolution in the transport sector as novel. He said in Delta state, commuters feel very comfortable with government intervention. The visibility of Delta Lines buses, now popularly known as Uduaghan Buses in every part of the state has made transport fare very competitive. The masses now have alternative.

    What is not lost on me is that this revolution which the governor brought into the transport sector of the state underscores the government’s commitment to good governance. The mass transit program though remarkable a populists program has helped to ease the burden of the people greatly.

    The economic vision did not only cushion the hardship of the deregulation of the downstream sector, it also provided the jobs for youths in commercial transportation with opportunity and today it is a success story.

    The Uduaghan administration has procured 800 vehicles comprising Toyota taxi cabs, 500 Hiace buses, 60 Marcopolo buses, 10 Tata buses and 130 boats deployed to various communities in the state. This has immensely improved the transport sector and reduced the stress associated with daily movement of Deltans.

    It is my hope that the administration will build on this before it leaves office in 2015. Deltans have suffered a lot and deserves the continuation of this relief.

     

    • Ejiro Idama is a public affairs commentator, who lives in Asaba state

     

  • Unity commits N2.1b to housing, transportation

    Unity Bank Plc has said it has committed N2.13 billion to fund housing and transport projects in Lagos State.

    Managing Director of Unity Bank Mr Ado Wanka, who said this at the weekend disclosed that the bank had committed about N1.5 billion to financing affordable houses in the state while another N6.33 million was earmarked for the purchase of 100 42 seater buses by HFZ Transport services.

    Wanka, represented by Mrs Yemi Adeyinka, the bank’s Regional Manager in Ikeja, made spoke at the bank’s Special Day at the ongoing 2012 Lagos International Trade Fair in Lagos. “The bank is involved in financing 112 housing units comprising 84 units of four-bedroom and 28 units of three- bedroom apartments in Lekki area of Lagos. “The project is worth N1.5 billion,” he said.

    Wanka said that this was the way the bank could participate in the turning Lagos to emerging mega city.

    He said the bank was also involved in promoting hospitality and tourism in the country by providing N250 million to fund the building of “African Sun Amber Residence”.

    The managing director also said that the bank was involved in financing the purchase of 50 Nissan Sunny cabs to ease transportation in Lagos to its POD of Diamonds customers. He said that the bank had been participating in the Lagos Trade Fair because it had large numbers of its branches in the state.

    “We are directly participating in the laudable steps taken by the Lagos Sate government to reshape the state into a model mega city of the 21st century,” he said.

    Mr Goodie Ibru, President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the bank had been reliable in providing finance to the private sector. He urged the bank to continue in its financial intervention to help businesses to grow in the country.