Ekiti targets 50% transport fare cut with CNG buses

Governor Biodun Oyebanji inspecting the buses during the official flag-off of 15 CNG buses at the premises of the Ekiti State Transportation Agency in Ado-Ekiti.

The Ekiti State Government has commenced moves to cut transport fares by 50 per cent through the deployment of Compressed Natural Gas-powered buses across the state.

Governor Biodun Oyebanji said the initiative was aimed at cushioning the impact of rising transportation costs on residents and improving access to affordable public transport.

Oyebanji spoke in Ado Ekiti on Thursday during the inauguration of 15 CNG buses donated to the state by the Federal Government.

The governor said the 15 buses were the first phase of the initiative, adding that the state would expand the fleet to serve more residents.

“The state has begun the process of cutting transport fare by 50 per cent through the rollout of the buses as part of efforts to promote affordable and accessible public transportation,” he said.

Oyebanji, who was accompanied by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, at the flag-off ceremony held at the premises of the Ekiti State Transportation Agency, urged transport unions to ensure that the benefits of the CNG buses were passed on to commuters.

He expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for the intervention, saying the buses would help reduce the transportation burden on residents.

The governor also said the state was responding to the Federal Government’s directive to state governments to find ways of reducing transportation costs.

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He said, “The President charged all state governors that by October 1, we should find a way of reducing transportation costs because most of the implications we are witnessing, transportation contributes a lot to it.

“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.

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

Oyebanji, who later inspected ongoing projects across the state, also commended Tinubu’s economic policies, saying they had provided more resources for states to implement projects.

“No matter how visionary a leader is, if there are no resources to work with, it will just stay in the realm of a vision,” he said.

The Director-General of the Ekiti State Transportation Agency, Tajudeen Akingbolu, said routes had been mapped out for the CNG buses to operate between Ado Ekiti and Lagos, Ibadan, Onitsha and Abuja.

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