The chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Bus Long Journey, Kakuri department, Kaduna, Comrade Yakubu Lawal, has urged the federal authorities to increase subsidised transportation via Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered and electrical automobiles to extra business transport operators to cut back fares and ease the burden of rising transportation prices on Nigerians.
Lawal made the attraction following President Bola Tinubu’s October 1 declaration of plans to subsidise transportation via CNG-powered and electrical automobiles, amid rising considerations over the rising value of interstate journey and the influence of financial hardship on passengers and transport operators.
Speaking when LEADERSHIP Newspapers visited the park, one of many oldest in Kaduna State, on Monday, November 2, 2026, Lawal mentioned the prevailing financial state of affairs had made travelling more and more tough for odd Nigerians, forcing many to rethink journeys that weren’t important.
He, nonetheless, mentioned the department had continued to function interstate routes, connecting passengers to locations throughout the nation, together with Port Harcourt, Enugu and Aba, regardless of the financial challenges.
Lawal, a business transporter for many years, mentioned many operators have been experiencing declining patronage because the rising value of dwelling continued to erode passengers’ buying energy.
He defined that the union had tried to steadiness the pursuits of its members with the monetary difficulties confronted by passengers by avoiding arbitrary fare will increase regardless of rising working prices.
“Sometimes, we load only three buses in a day as big as this park is,” he mentioned.
The NURTW chairman disclosed that the fare from Kaduna to Port Harcourt, which beforehand stood at about N30,000, had risen to N35,000, expressing concern in regards to the means of passengers to afford the price of interstate journey.
“We know that the masses are suffering daily. We always sympathise with our customers because we understand the economic problems in the country,” he mentioned.
Lawal lamented that his department didn’t have CNG-powered buses, regardless of the federal authorities’s initiative to advertise cheaper and cleaner vitality for transportation.
He famous that some union members had been supplied alternatives to profit from the CNG programme via designated slots however expressed concern that the initiative had but to succeed in a major variety of operators on the department stage.
He additionally recognized the rising prices of auto upkeep, spare elements and gas as main challenges affecting transport companies, including that the financial hardship had diminished the variety of automobiles working day by day on the park.
According to him, some operators may solely afford to place two or three automobiles on the street day by day, additional affecting their operations and income.
He, due to this fact, referred to as on the federal authorities to make sure that the proposed transport subsidy reached extra business transport operators, significantly these serving interstate routes, to carry down fares and enhance passenger patronage.
Lawal maintained that efficient implementation of the CNG and electrical automobile initiative would ease the monetary burden on passengers, help the survival of transport companies and enhance mobility throughout the nation.
A passenger recognized as Ngozi, who was sighted on the park, additionally lamented the rising value of interstate journey, saying many Nigerians now thought-about whether or not a journey was completely essential earlier than embarking on it.
“Some passengers now consider that any journey have to be crucial earlier than they embark on it.
“Some of us even prefer to send money to our loved ones rather than travel if it is not compulsory,” she mentioned.
Ngozi added that travelling from Kaduna to Aba, Abia State, may require a minimal of N100,000 for transportation alone, describing the fee as a significant burden on passengers.
Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Government, via the Kaduna State Transport Authority (KSTA), continues to supply free intercity CNG-powered bus providers to residents, a programme that predates President Tinubu’s October 1 directive.
