EVERY morning and evening, on workdays, hundreds of residents would converge at any of the bus stops and junctions in different parts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), desperately waiting for vehicles to convey them on their way to, or from, work.

Most times, they wait for a long time. There is always a rush when any registered cabs turn up to pick just a couple of passengers. Other residents, primarily workers who are going to work or returning home with private vehicles, complement the registered cabs by picking passengers for a fare.

The prevailing transportation situation in the FCT shows that the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Scheme of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has failed.

The transport scheme is driven by the Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company Limited (AUMTCO).

The company was initially established as Abuja Bus Service (ABS) before registering as Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company Limited under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

Set up as a vehicle to drive the transportation needs of the FCT, AUMTCO, by its terms of reference, was expected to provide “the best value for money and safest, most reliable scheduled and bus hire service in Nigeria.”

The company was also expected to plan, develop and implement a sustainable urban public transport system in the FCT for effective, comfortable, safe, regular, efficient and affordable transport service delivery.

AUMTCO reportedly commenced operations with over 500 high-capacity buses procured at a total cost of about N1.3 billion, deployed on designated FCT routes, including Abuja-Mararaba Abuja-Bwari, Abuja-Kuje, Abuja-Gwagwalada and Abuja-Suleja. The company’s buses also plied routes within Abuja city centre.

The take-off of the urban transport scheme led to a ban on green painted mini-buses, popularly referred to as ‘Araba’, in the FCT.

At the time AUMTCO commenced operations, it reportedly had a staff strength of 518 workers.

But the urban mass transport scheme never met the transportation needs of the FCT, the reason for which it was conceptualised.

Investigations by The ICIR reveal that poor planning was primarily responsible for the failure of the scheme.

Although AUMTCO was established with lofty objectives, the company’s large 49-seater buses were very slow and, as a result, we’re never entirely accepted by Abuja residents, especially workers who needed to get to their offices on time.

The movement of the buses was slowed down by having to pick and drop passengers at all bus stops and junctions on the various routes.

As a result, even though the green mini-buses have been phased out, residents preferred to patronise small cabs, mostly salon cars which carry a maximum of four passengers at the back, and sometimes two on the front passenger seat.

READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/investigation-how-poor-planning-led-to-failure-of-abuja-urban-mass-transport-scheme/

Nothing dey surprise me about 9ja matter again.

There is this saying that "if you fail to plan, you have plan to fail" Nigeria don fail tey tey.

Anyways FTC
Abeg oga seun, cc lalasticlala, make una sama me something for my FTC. Xmas is around the corner. Show me love abeg.

R

True

Ok

He who fails to plan
Plans to fail

But this is Naija
There is a higher tendency of failing despite proper planning

Abuja is not fit to be called a Capital when you compare it with Cities like, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Rabat in Morocco, Gaborone in Botswana, Praia in Cape Verde, even Kigali in Rwanda.
Abuja is just on merry go round. Go to the city t=during rain fall and see flooded street as a result of poor drainage and the sink holes are blocked.
No provision for public transport. The masses are on the mercies of private motorists and these have led to may peoples untimely deaths due to one chance operator

wahala for who no want it

Nothing good can really work in this useless country.

Chai, so elrufai buses don finally pack up

A sector that the Government is actually supposed to make income from is left to rot away, jokes apart, FCT administration is a joke

they should just send those buses to zuba

U fit spend 1hr dey find car for abuja

El-Rufai remains the best thing that has happened to FCT, since his administration there has been no minister that has performed half as well as El-Rufai did. I believe El-Rufai had great plans for those bus services, as they provided cheaper and consistent price rate, secondly El-Rufai had plans to create a lane for the buses just like the brt in a Lagos, infact it was already being implemented before his tenure ended.

1face0:
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How many of your family members have "this" good money?

Just like they borrowed $500m to put CCTV cameras all over Abuja



CCTV, we no see

Money nko, we no see




GOD PUNISH THE POVERTY DEVELOPMENT PARTY

Useless people manning serious sectors...

If you check well, na one quota system person dey in charge

The FCT is truly not well planned. Go through Gwagwalada, there is only one main road through it. Every other road seem to lead to a dead end. If the express road got blocked by the only bridge spanning the river, there is no exit waiting for you.

Its surprising that the Gwagwalada plan is less than 25 years old.

Shehuyinka:

READ MORE HERE: https://www.icirnigeria.org/investigation-how-poor-planning-led-to-failure-of-abuja-urban-mass-transport-scheme/

Na Elrufai una use all these grammars for? Dey stop at intervals even if it is only one person standing by road side.

Nothing new. Afterall, it happened in Lagos. What this country needs is restructuring. If it takes only Lagos, Rivers, Anambra and Kaduna states to float, watch other states as they learn to swim by force to remain alive. Feeding bottle and nepotistic federal system will turn this country to Afghanistan.

Abuja is no longer what it used to be.

A shadow of its former self

The people in charge are too soft

Bubu at his best

Alphafeezay:
A sector that the Government is actually supposed to make income from is left to rot away, jokes apart, FCT administration is a joke

This country matter don tire person

Ordinary to run a transport company, the Government is finding it hard to do so.

A whole FG o

Big ups to LAMATA jawe, dem still dey try.

No feedback loop observed

More like heavy corruption in that particular agency ..how do you have a public transport system that work more like a regular 9 to 5 salary job? And only on week days?you see the useless bus on Sunday morning being hired by churches to ferry worshippers to and fro, neglecting the main purpose for which it was set up! I

They won't make a reasonable person minister of FCT, they will use religious sentiment kill every institutions.

Poor planning isn't the problem here. Poor execution and maintenance is. Every city should grow with its population. But apparently this does not work in Nigeria. When the London underground was first built, it was nothing compared to what it is today. But they have kept on improving and upgrading the infrastructure to cope with the population growth of the city. Abuja on the other hand expects that its original design of over 30 years ago should be able to keep up 30years after with all the growth it has experienced

Elr rufai is the best fct minister till date....the current one that was disgraced in Senate few months ago is the worst ever.....