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The Abia State government has announced plans to introduce Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered buses into the state’s transportation system. This initiative comes in response to a recently implemented policy restricting the operational hours of tricycles (keke napep) and motorcycles in the major cities of Umuahia and Aba.
The announcement was made by the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Prince Okey Kanu, during a press briefing on Monday.
The briefing followed a State Executive Council meeting and addressed concerns arising from the new policy.
Kanu explained that the CNG buses aim to “compensate for the restricted operational hours” of tricycles and motorcycles, which are now limited to operate between 6:00 AM and 7:00 PM.
“As part of the initiatives and incentives to drive this new policy, the Abia Government plans to introduce CNG-powered buses to close any gaps created by the full implementation of the restriction policy,” Kanu stated.
The commissioner mentioned that the government is also responding to public feedback by postponing the enforcement date of the tricycle/motorcycle restrictions. The policy, originally scheduled for implementation on July 1st, will now take effect on August 1st.
Mr. Kanu further elaborated on how tricycle and motorcycle operators could potentially benefit from the CNG bus initiative. He suggested that operators could form cooperatives and work in clusters to gain access to these new vehicles.
“The bottom line will be to access these buses so that there will be no gaps in terms of people missing out on earning income,” he emphasized.
Kanu hinted that preparations for the August 1st implementation date are underway, including the enumeration and registration of all commercial vehicles.
