Scores of commuters at the Oshodi Transport Interchange and other accredited parks in Lagos State on Thursday appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to extend the 50 per cent fare reduction on inter-state road transport services till January 7.
The call came as Oshodi Interchange Terminal, one of the major interstate parks in the state, recorded over 6,000 travellers who benefited from the discounted fare.
They were reportedly conveyed in over 700 commercial buses to their respective states during the Yuletide season.
Managing Director of Planet Project Limited, Mr. Biodun Otunola, disclosed this in a chat with newsmen at the terminal as the scheme officially came to an end.
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However, in separate interviews commuters who commended the federal government for the scheme said it helped in providing relief to thousands of people who travelled homes during the festive period and said many of them were yet to return to their states or cities of residence.
One of the passengers, Ifeoma Obi, who was travelling with her daughter to Anambra, appealed to the federal government to extend the intervention.
“I am so grateful, and I am very happy. If Nigeria can continue like this, we will all be happy. God bless President Tinubu,” she said.
Another commuter, Ms. Amaka Eze, called on the federal government to extend the scheme till January 7 to enable more citizens, who had not returned to their bases, to benefit from it.
Eze, who travelled to Onitsha, Anambra State through Mosco Sienna Link at the Oshodi Transport Interchange, said: “In all sincerity, I appreciate the federal government for introducing this scheme. The fare to Onitsha is N30, 000. But to my surprise, I received a rebate of N15, 000. It is truly huge.
“I am appealing to the federal government to extend the scheme to January 7 to enable more people to benefit. A lot of people, who will return to their bases this weekend, will not benefit from it if the scheme is not extended. For this reason, we plead with President Tinubu to graciously extend it.
Another passenger, Ms. Mariam Ogundeji, who also benefited from the fare reduction scheme at Terminal I, Oshodi Transport Interchange, noted that this was the first time the government policy would directly touch her life as a person.
Ogundeji, also a student at Kwara State Polytechnic, observed that the 50 per cent fare reduction scheme was a pro-people policy, which cushioned the effects of fuel subsidy removal on the masses to some extent.
She urged the federal government “to sustain initiating policies, programmes and projects that will directly touch the lives of ordinary people. For instance, I got a return of N3, 000 out of N6, 000 fare I paid to travel to Ilorin, Kwara State. It is amazing. I have not benefited from anything from the government before now.”
Speaking on the implementation of the scheme, the Managing Director of Planet Project said the interchange recorded a surge of travelers since the scheme started on December 19, 2023.
He said, “So far, we have had a lot of awesome passengers increase, we have managed this terminal for the past 5 years. So we could say to you that we have an over 35 per cent increase in the number of passengers compared to what we normally have recorded in the past Christmas period.
“So Nigerians took advantage of the fact they are getting 50 per cent transport fare. For this terminal, we have run over 6,000 passengers with over 700 vehicles, which is far over what we normally used to have in the Christmas period.
“Nigerians trooped out and took advantage of the fact that there is a 50 per cent reduction in transport fare. As you know, transport is one of the pain points of the fuel subsidy removal and because of this laudable programme of the federal government, a lot of Nigerians troop here daily, morning, afternoon and evening to take advantage of the opportunity so that they can travel for the yuletide season.”
Otunola said the federal government “deserved a lot of credit for doing this within this period.”
“This is the starting point. We believe that by the time this project is implemented in subsequent years, it will be better. There will be a lot more awareness, communication and information.
“More stakeholders will be brought on board and the project will be more successful. For the first time, people were refunded money as high as N15, 000. So, they were shocked that even during elections they did not get that kind of money. From this terminal so far we have been 100 per cent compliant,” he added.
