The Federal Government has revealed that 608,644 passengers who intend to travel by road or rail will benefit from transport during the Yuletide.

The Minister of Transportation, Sen. Said Alkali, provided an update on the transport initiative launched by the federal government.

According to the Minister, the Nigerian Railway Corporation, which commenced the free train ride on the 20th of December, will convey 320,000 passengers in 292 trips with 74 coaches.

The train routes are Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS), Lagos-Ibadan Train Service (LITS), Lagos Intra City Mass Transit (Lagos MTT), Warri-Itakpe Train Service (WITS), Port Harcourt-Aba Train Service (PH-ABA), and Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) MTT.

For road transport, he stated that 288,644 passengers will be conveyed to various parts of the country with 708 vehicles over the next 13 days.

Both exercises are expected to last until 5th January 2025.

The Minister mentioned that ministry staff and other stakeholders have been deployed to various parks to ensure transparency and compliance.

He stated that: ?The Federal Government?s transport palliative initiative is expected to cushion the economic hardship experienced by some Nigerians and also to ensure that they have a good travel experience during this Yuletide period.

?President Tinubu decided to start it early so that Nigerians will enjoy the free ride well ahead of the holidays, and he has approved and extended it until the 5th of January so that people can return to their respective destinations.

?We have also commenced a 50 per cent road transport palliative today. The flashpoints are Lagos and Abuja, and we are going to cover Abuja to all the 36 states of the Federation, as well as Lagos to all the 36 states of the Federation. The road initiative will also last until the 5th of January. It is discounted by 50 per cent, as approved by Mr President, to provide welfare for the citizens of this great country.

?For the entire period by road, we expect to carry 17,588 passengers daily and 288,644 by the end of the exercise. Therefore, for both road and rail, it is estimated that 608,644 passengers will benefit from the transport palliative launched by the federal government,? he added.

To ensure compliance and transparency, the Minister reiterated that ministry staff and other relevant stakeholders have been deployed to various parks across the country.

?No passenger should pay any fare above 50 per cent of the normal transport fare. We have deployed all ministry staff, including the Permanent Secretary, to ensure transparency and accountability.?

Commenting on why the road transport palliative began later compared to rail, the Minister explained that the delay was due to feasibility studies and consultations conducted by the ministry.

?The NRC is an established government agency. The bureaucracy is already in place. So if you want to start any railway exercise, you don?t need to have any consultations. It is merely for the government to give directives to the managing director of the Nigeria Railway Corporation, and he will start the exercise.

?However, for the road initiative, you need to involve the stakeholders. You need to have their submissions. You have to conduct feasibility studies and sort out all the necessary details. You have to determine the routes to ensure the availability of buses.

?That is why the road initiative was unable to commence at the same time as the rail initiative; that being 13 days later, I believe it is still adequate to convey a large number of people,? he said.

On the mechanisms put in place to ensure transparency and avoid waste, the Minister assured that the government would not incur any losses.

?The government will not lose anything because there must be a reconciliation mechanism. At the end of last year?s exercise, we organised discussions with all the companies and conducted reconciliations since we had manifests, and our staff were deployed to all the parks. By the time each bus reaches its destination, the staff will accompany the driver of that same bus to perform reconciliations. Consequently, any unused funds will be refunded to the federal government after the exercise and once the reconciliation is complete,? he said. (The Nation)

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