With 120 CNG buses, Kaduna BRT targets 20,000 jobs

The Kaduna State Government will deploy 120 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered articulated buses on a 24-kilometre Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor to ease traffic congestion, create 20,000 jobs and reduce carbon emissions in the state.

The project, the first BRT system in Kaduna State and second of its kind in Nigeria after Lagos, will feature dedicated bus lanes, modern bus stops, shelters and terminals designed to provide faster, more efficient and affordable mass transportation.

The Acting Director-General of the Kaduna State Transport Regulatory Authority (KADSTRA), Engr. Inuwa Ibrahim, said the government had completed the planning and design stages and was preparing to commence implementation.

“We are expecting to have about 10 to 20,000 jobs just for this BRT corridor of just 24 kilometres,” he said, adding that the deployment of 120 articulated buses and supporting infrastructure would stimulate economic activities along the route,’’ Ibrahim said.

The KADSTRA boss said the use of CNG-powered buses would help reduce transportation costs while providing commuters with a cleaner alternative to conventional fuel-powered vehicles.

He described CNG as “cheaper and cleaner”, saying its deployment would also contribute to reducing emissions and improving the urban environment.

An advanced engineering consultant on the project, Idris Akinremi, said the BRT was designed to tackle congestion by providing an efficient mass transit alternative capable of encouraging motorists to leave their private vehicles and use public transportation.

“The project will discourage putting cars on the roads. This will reduce traffic on the road; once people see this, they will abandon their cars,” he said.

Akinremi said the project would improve the efficiency of existing roads without unnecessary expansion or widespread demolition of properties, explaining that about 80 per cent of the corridor would retain the existing carriageways while BRT infrastructure would be incorporated into the road design.

According to him, an efficient mass transit system would instead move large numbers of commuters without requiring a corresponding increase in road space.

“If you put a BRT there, 80 per cent of those people putting their vehicles on the road will park it without expanding the road. What do you have? Efficiency,” he said.

Akinremi said the first section of the Kaduna BRT corridor was expected to cover about 17 kilometres, subject to completion of the final design, while the officials said the overall project would combine modern mass transportation, cleaner energy and employment opportunities in the effort to reshape urban mobility in Kaduna.