Passengers enjoy 50% discount on transport fares across Nigeria
Thousands of Nigerians travelling across the country during the festive season have benefited from a 50% discount on transport fares, as part of a presidential directive to ease the burden of transportation.
The initiative, which was announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on December 23, 2023, covers all public transport operators, including luxury buses, minibuses, and taxis.
According to a press statement from the Federal Ministry of Transportation, many passengers were recorded on Boxing Day, 26th of December, 2023, rushing to take advantage of the discount, which was implemented by a monitoring team from the ministry.
The statement, signed by Olujimi Oyetomi, the Director of Press and Public Relations, said that the monitoring team visited various motor parks in Abuja, where they ensured that passengers got refunded half of the fare they paid to their destinations.
Some of the routes covered by the discount include Abuja to Maiduguri, Abuja to Kano, Abuja to Damaturu, Abuja to Ilorin, Abuja to Ikotun, and Abuja to Lagos.
The statement also said that the federal government officials in charge of the programme had to review the strategy for implementation, as more routes and passengers applied for the discount.
The statement quoted some of the passengers who expressed gratitude to the president for the gesture, saying that it helped them to travel despite the hard times.
The statement also commended the cooperation of the transport operators, who agreed to the working agreement between the luxury bus owners’ association and the ministry.
For December 26, there were 48 passengers to Borno; 54 to Kano; 14 to Damaturu; 7 to Ilorin; 12 to Ikotun as well as another 8 to Lagos and the FG Monitoring Team was able to observe these Nigerians paid a 50%discount of the transport fares to their different destinations on Boxing Day especially with the working agreement between luxury bus owners’ association and different transport company operators in Abuja.
The discount programme is expected to run till January 4, 2024, as part of the government’s efforts to make transportation affordable and accessible for Nigerians during the yuletide.
