The Plateau State Government has introduced Tin City Metro with fourteen German-made buses to ease transportation and cushion the effect of the increase in the cost of transportation occasioned by the removal of the petroleum subsidy.
Speaking with newsmen while inspecting the Terminus area of the Jos City Center in preparation for the takeoff of the transport service, the Secretary to the State Government, Architect Samuel Jatau, said the city centre needs to be cleared for free flow of vehicular movement.
According to him, those selling along the roads within the area will be temporarily relocated to an alternative place, pending when the government provides a permanent place for them to practice their trades.
“The government intends to build markets in the neighbourhood so that there will not be an over-concentration of people buying and selling in one place. We are not working behind schedule, which is why the buses have not been commissioned. We want to clear the road first before we put the buses on the roads.”
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He emphasized that the city centre and other places where the buses will ply will definitely be cleared and advised those selling along the major roads to vacate before the government takes drastic action against them, adding that the government is ready to sanitize Jos metropolis and its environs.
General Manager, Plateau Express Services, Mr. Samuel Jok Gwott, enjoined traders within the city centre to cooperate with the government to ensure the free flow of movement of the buses and other vehicles on the roads, adding that the rationale behind the deployment of the buses was to address the hardship being experienced by the citizens.
“It may interest you to know that the state government is subsidizing the cards and fares by fifty per cent, either far or near the cards go for N200. Also, this is not an elitist approach, but this is the best and safest approach to adopt for control purposes.
“To get the cards definitely will not be a problem because there’s going to be points of sale within the state capital. For a start, we are taking eight routes, but I can assure you that the Governor Caleb Muftwang-led administration will increase the number of buses as time goes on,” he said.
He therefore charged the people of the state to support the initiatives of the government towards alleviating the suffering of the people, adding that the government needs the support of all to succeed.
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE