In a bid to cushion the adverse impact of the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy on the good people of Edo State, the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration in September commenced free intra-city and inter-city bus service for all residents of the state. In this interview, Mrs Hauwa Dupe Ohikhuai, Managing Director/CEO of Edo City Transport Service (ECTS), the government parastatal that operates the free bus ride service, speaks with Acting Editor, Chuks Oluigbo, and Correspondent, Jennifer Osadoh, on the progress of the free bus ride service so far and other related matters. Excerpts:
You have been working at Edo City Transport Service (ECTS) in the past 23 years, rising to the top as Managing Director/CEO of the parastatal recently. Please tell us, what is the mandate of ECTS?
The mandate of ECTS is to provide seamless and efficient public mass transportation to the good people of Edo State, both intra- and inter-city services, and we have been meeting this mandate.
There has been a lot of talk recently around the free transport services being run by the Edo State government through ECTS. We would like to know, how is that project going? What is the progress report?
We all know that on the September 11, 2023, at the instance of the Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, we commenced free ride for the good people of Edo State and residents of Edo State. This free ride was to be for two months in the first instance, to cushion the adverse effects occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy. And so, Edo people have embraced His Excellency’s kind gesture and they have been very happy; they are very grateful.
The operation covers intra-city and inter-city routes. By intra-city, I mean major routes across Benin City, while inter-city refers to routes from Benin City to major cities in the three senatorial districts, cities like Auchi, Ibilo, Ososo, Uzeba, Uromi, Ewohimi, Ewatto, Ubiaja, Uronigbe, amongst others.
We commence operations as early as 6:30 in the morning and close at between 7 and 7:50pm every evening. The intra-city service, which covers mainly routes in the metropolis, runs for six days a week, that is, Monday through Saturday, while the inter-city operations run for seven days, that is, Monday through Sunday.
Could you put a figure to the number of people who have benefitted from these operations so far?
A lot of people have benefited from this free bus ride service and they are very happy, full of praises and gratitude to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Edo State. The people are very grateful. I get calls from commuters almost every day praising His Excellency and offering prayers on his behalf.
In the first two months of this mandate, we have been able to carry 1,536,904 commuters, and these commuters have been able to save the funds they would have used to pay for the high cost of transportation resulting from the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy. They are able to save that cost and deploy such funds saved into other areas of needs, like house rent, feeding, school fees, and so on.
Again, His Excellency has directed us to extend this free ride to February 10, 2024. This is born out of his desire to further alleviate the sufferings of Edo people as a result of the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. People are very happy because it covers the Yuletide season and you know how very expensive it usually is to travel during the Yuletide season. Now, people are going to be travelling free and it’s a big deal.
But there are still a few doubters saying some negative things even about the sustainability of the programme. Are their fears justified?
Too bad that there are still doubters. This is the ninth week and we are stronger and better. Like I said, for the first eight weeks we had already carried 1,536,904 commuters. Is that not a huge number? So, I want to say that the doubting Thomases should have a rethink. The truth is that this mandate of the governor for us to offer free ride will be sustained as long as His Excellency wants it to be. We are on top of the challenge of the free ride service and His Excellency has provided logistics for the free ride to run seamlessly.
There is this other issue that was brought to our attention: some civil servants at one of the bus-stands felt more entitled to the buses than other people and wanted to displace other persons that were already on queue. How do you address this?
I am sure the Compliance Officers on ground there would not allow them, because His Excellency did not say we should carry only civil servants. He said everybody is eligible to ride on the buses so long as you are resident in Edo State; so long as you are able to get to the terminal, then you are eligible to ride on the bus. For the civil servants, we are not saying they are not important, it’s just that His Excellency has not directed us to give preference to them. He has only directed us to carry everybody free and that is what we are doing, and if the civil/public servants get to the terminal in good time, they will ride on the free buses. But if other persons get there first, then those ones will ride and the civil/public servants will have to wait for the next bus to come.
Some have also raised questions about differently-abled people. Is there any preferential treatment for this group of people?
What we do is that we give preference now to differently-abled people, heavily pregnant women and the elderly. Because they cannot stay in one place for long, we give them preference. Immediately the buses come, the field officers have been properly briefed that they should allow such persons to enter first.
We have heard it being said out there that the extension of the free ride service is only applicable to the intra-city buses. How true is this?
That is a blatant lie. The inter-city commuters till now don’t pay. The extension covers both intra- and inter-city buses. You can even go and ask the commuters. It has been extended and there is no exception.
Does the state of the roads affect your operations?
The truth is that to some extent, it used to affect us, because some of our buses were getting stuck in the traffic, meanwhile people would be waiting at the terminal and most times complaining while the buses were being held up. However, due to the massive remedial work on the roads by His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, our operations have been enhanced, as the roads are now more motorable.
Some people say that you can only get inter-city buses in the mornings, is this true and why?
Yes, it is mostly in the mornings. But for Otuo, Uronigbe and Uzeba, we do afternoons too. This is because there are some routes you won’t just be able to ply several times a day. For example, Ososo is far and you know the story of the road, so when they get there in the evening, 6-7pm, they just rest and the next morning they pick people from that axis back to Benin. We have continued to run our five major inter-city routes, but in the process of plying those routes, a lot of villages and towns are covered.
What are these five major inter-city routes?
The five routes are Benin-Auchi-Ososo, Benin-Uronigbe, Benin-Ubiaja, Benin-Uzeba-Otuo, and Benin-Ewatto.
When the free ride service began, did you have to change your mode of operation in terms of time and days?
No. The mode of operation has remained the same. The very day we started this free ride, we picked about 23,211 passengers as against our average of 13,000 passengers. So yes, it has been massively successful. The truth is that His Excellency is the only one that has done this kind of thing in the whole of Nigeria.
I would say this initiative has been successful. When a survey was done, it was calculated that commuters have saved up to N1.5 billion in terms of what they would have spent if they had had to use other commercial buses to move the way they have moved this season with the free ride service. Before we started the free ride, we still carried passengers at the rate of N200 for a 15km journey, the same distance that other commercial buses would charge up to N700. So, if you calculate how much has been saved up by commuters if they were to use other commercial buses at their own rates, it is up to N1.5 billion monthly. And that is massive.
A lady was interviewed at one of the terminals recently and she said that she has been travelling to and fro weekly for the past three weeks. How would she have coped if it wasn’t free?
Are you prepared for the Yuletide season?
Of course, we are prepared for the Yuletide season. It is a season when there is an upward increase in the number of commuters. For us, we expect that it is going to be very serious this year, because it is totally free. We envisage a massive number of commuters, especially people travelling from Benin City to major cities across the three senatorial districts. We expect a lot of passengers and we are prepared for them. We have trained our field staff to be able to provide the services needed for the season so that we can better deliver on the mandate given to us for the free ride. We also hope to beef up security in our terminals so that there will be law and order, particularly due to the rush. This is especially for people travelling with their wives and families, people who may not have been to their villages for a long time but now want to seize the opportunity of the free ride.
Fortunately too, His Excellency has done massive remedial works on some federal roads and now the roads are more motorable and easier. With free flow of traffic, it will enhance our performance during this Yuletide season.
How much patronage or support does ECTS get from the government?
Total support. The government makes all the logistics available to ensure the place is run properly. The governor has already advanced plans to get new buses. So, we are expecting new buses and they will be coming in very soon.
