Ekiti targets 50% fare cut, deploys 15 CNG buses

The Ekiti State Government has deployed Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses to reduce transport fares by 50 per cent and ease the burden of transportation costs on residents.

The 15 CNG buses were commissioned on Thursday at the premises of the Ekiti State Transportation Agency in Ado-Ekiti by Governor Biodun Oyebanji.

Oyebanji accompanied by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said the 15 buses, donated to the State by the Federal Government, represented the pilot phase of the initiative.

He said the state government would expand the fleet to ensure that more residents benefit from the intervention.

According to him: “The President charged all state Governors that by October first, we should find a way of reducing transportation cost because most of the implications we are witnessing, transportation contributes a lot to it and what we have done today is just the pilot: 15 CNG buses, which are going to be distributed to the unions, and the agency will manage it.’’

He urged transport unions to ensure that the benefits of the CNG buses were passed directly to commuters through reduced fares.

“My appeal is to the unions; they should allow the gains to translate to the commuters because this will reduce transportation cost by 50 percent,” he said.

Oyebanji also expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for the Federal Government’s intervention, saying the provision of the buses would contribute significantly to reducing the transportation burden on residents.

The Director-General of the Ekiti State Transportation Agency, Tajudeen Akingbolu, said routes had already been mapped out for the CNG buses.

He said the buses would operate on routes linking Ado-Ekiti with Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha and Abuja.

Akingbolu said the initiative would provide residents with more affordable and reliable interstate transportation while reducing the impact of high transport fares on commuters.

The State government said it would continue to explore measures aimed at reducing transportation costs and improving access to affordable public transportation across Ekiti State.