By Nudoiba Ojen
Ogun State Government will soon begin construction of bus stations for the take-off of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Mass Transit scheme along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway axis.
The stations are to be sited within Mowe, Ibafo Arepo, and Berger axis of the ever-busy expressway.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Engr Dairo Olugbenga, who made the disclosure while speaking on a radio programme in Abeokuta on Thursday, said the the construction would begin in earnest, as necessary implementation frameworks have been put in place.
He said, “I want to use this medium to plead with our people for their support as this is another integral part of development geared towards easing the movement of people and goods in Ogun State, which will serve as a respite to environmental pollution by reducing emissions and promote a cleaner and safer environment in the state”.
Dairo noted that the CNG powered mass transit buses would be deployed to the corridor for cheaper and safe movement in advance of the construction of the bus stations.
Speaking on the process of operating urban transportation system in the state, the Commissioner highlighted infrastructure, law compliance, operation and price control as the four key elements applied by the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.
He said: “We need to let our people know that there are four applicable and adopted ways to transportation, and that is infrastructure, which if you observe during our first tenure, the governor has worked on bad roads in all the local government areas across the state and work is still on-going.
“The second is law enforcement, which will ensure all road users comply with rules and regulations guiding the usage of the roads, fostering security and safety of passengers and drivers while the third is operation.
“We are going to formalise transport operation, in that, whoever is going into it must have between 10 to 30 buses under him.
“Current operators will be encouraged to coalesce into cooperatives. This will aid proper management and monitoring of the movement of goods and people in the state.
“Aside from this, there is price control. This administration is further working on providing affordable transportation for the good people of Ogun State,” he said.
