Transport Fare Reduction Has Already Begun -Pi-CNG Executive Chairman
Transport Fare Reduction Has Already Begun - Pi-CNG Executive Chairman
The reduction in transportation costs promised by President Bola Tinubu has already begun, the Executive Chairman of the Presidential Initiative on Compressed Natural Gas and Electric Vehicles (Pi-CNG & EV), Ismaeel Ahmed, has said.
Ahmed, speaking on Wednesday on Channels Television, a day before the October 1 target set by President Tinubu for measurable fare cuts, said fares on several routes across the country are already significantly lower than commercial rates, with savings of between 31 and 83 per cent recorded in seven states and the FCT.
"What we are going to be seeing, starting tomorrow (October 1), is hopefully a reduction of transport fares in certain routes," Ahmed said. "If you jump on a CNG bus today from Gwagwalada to Abuja, you will be paying nothing less than 40 per cent cheaper than what you should be paying."
He disclosed that more than 120,000 vehicles have been converted to CNG, while the 100,000 conversion kits programme announced in March is nearing completion.
He said CNG infrastructure has grown from fewer than 10 stations before 2023 to about 90, with Kano moving from zero to 10 stations in the last year. The Federal Government has ordered 1,000 stations through the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund.
According to Pi-CNG, early impacts are visible. In Borno, 500 electric tricycles, 20 electric buses and 150 electric taxis operate at for buses, N100 for taxis and N200 for tricycles. Kaduna’s CNG buses offer free rides and have carried 3.2 million passengers. Abia’s 40 electric buses run at 50 per cent subsidy.
President Tinubu had on September 19 directed states to accelerate the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme under a committee chaired by Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.
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