A total of 128 North-bound travellers have benefitted from the 50% discount on transport fares for Nigerians during the Yuletide.
A statement by the Director of Press & Public Relations of the Ministry of Transportation, Olujimi Oyetomi, said the travellers from Abuja were bound for Gombe, Bauchi, Yola and Maiduguri, paying only half of the transport fares charged for each of their destinations.
“The North-bound passengers got immediate reimbursement of 50% of the transport fares paid upon boarding their vehicles, by the Chairman of the Association of Luxury Bus Owners (ALBON)’s Task Force on the Implementation of the discount, Chief Clement Okuefuna, who personally conducted the disbursement in cash at the Area 1 Motor Park from where most of the buses which conveyed the passengers took off on Christmas day, 25th of December, 2023.
“Since the routes to the North were mostly serviced by low-capacity vehicles as opposed to high-capacity luxury vehicles, ALBON has initiated a work arrangement with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), FCT Chapter to service the routes. ALBON also made good its promise to publicise venues for boarding the vehicles where passengers could be reimbursed 50% of the fares paid.
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“Starting from as early as 5am on Christmas Day, four 16-seater capacity buses began loading, their passengers given back half of the fares paid and dispatched to Gombe from Area 1 Park in Abuja.
“One 16-seater capacity bus was loaded with travellers who also got the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s discount of 50% and dispatched for Bauchi. Additional loaded and headed for Yola while yet another loaded and headed for Maiduguri,” the statement added.