Kano State governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has officially flagged off the Kano City Mass Transit Scheme with the commissioning of 100 buses and 50 taxis.
The ceremony under the pilot Kano bus mass transit project held yesterday was aimed at addressing transportation challenges along Jogana, Yankura to Janguza Corridor.
The 100 buses and 50 cars painted with green and a stripe of white are to commence operation immediately.
Speaking at the occasion, Ganduje, said the construction and extension of many roads, flyovers and underpasses and many other infrastructures are necessary for the commercially viable and industrious city.
“To ensure effective and sustainable benefits of the investment and functional transport, infrastructure needs to be provided for an efficient mass transit system that will fit into the new prolific city like Kano,” he said.
He noted that the absence of efficient mass transit has given rise to the proliferation of tricycles as the main public transport vehicle in metropolitan Kano, adding that the consequences of this is traffic congestion which has reached critical level while security of lives is becoming a great source of concern.
Ganduje added that the Kanawa bus service will commence on pilot basis with the 100 high capacity buses procured at the cost of N2.5 billion.
The service is going to be operated by private operator to ensure efficiency and effective management on a public-private partnership, the governor said, adding that additional 200 buses are to be provided in next year’s budget to cover other corridors.
“To achieve this directive, we have directed the state investment and properties limited to invest in the new taxis and give it on hire purchase to the members of the Tricycle associations to be displaced from the pilot corridor. This component of the scheme will be revolving until all the corridors are fully covered by this service,” he said.
Earlier, the chairman of the organising committee, Engr Rabiu Suleiman Bichi while presenting the buses, appreciated the governor for the laudable project, urging stakeholders to take the project to the desired stage. He said eight local government areas of the metropolis will see the pilot take off of the service while calling on investors to key into the initiative.
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