Scores of commuters at the Oshodi Transport Interchange and other accredited parks in Lagos State, on Thursday, urged President Bola Tinubu to extend the 50% fare reduction on inter-state road transport services till the end of January.

According to them, many Nigerians, who travelled home during the festive period, had not returned to their places of residence.

Speaking to newsmen in Oshodi, Lagos, one of the commuters, Amaka Eze, hailed the president for the 50% fare reduction scheme.

He 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.”

Also speaking, Mariam Ogundeji, who benefited from the fare reduction scheme at Terminal I, Oshodi Transport Interchange, said it was the first time the government policy would directly touch her life as a person.

A student of Kwara State Polytechnic, who identified herself simply as Ogundeji, said the 50 per cent fare reduction scheme was a pro-people policy, which indeed 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.”

On her part, Esther Omoshebi, said: “I am indeed happy. It is a good move by the federal government.

“We appreciate President Tinubu for this 50% fare initiative. If they can extend it beyond today, it will be more appreciated.”

Also commenting on the implementation of the initiative in Lagos State was a transporter, who identified himself simply as Otunola. He said: “So far, we have had an upsurge in passenger numbers. We have been managing this terminal for the past five years.

“We could say that we have over 35 per cent increase in the number of passengers compared to what we normally would have recorded during 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 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.

“From this terminal, over 6,000 passengers have benefitted from the initiative and so far over 700 vehicles in 15 days have conveyed passengers out of the state. This is far higher than what we could have during the festive period at this point in time, based on our historical data.”

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.”

Source: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/01/commuters-seek-extension-of-50-fare-reduction-scheme/

FG announced this 50% discount without having officials on ground to ensure that these transport companies are complying with the directive.

GIGM has shown that fraud runs in the blood of most Nigerians. They collect your account details, promise to refund your 50% and does nothing at the end of the day.

Why are Nigerians and Nigerian companies so dishonest?