Tinubu: CNG, electric buses cut transport fares by 83%

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said commuters in seven states and the Federal Capital Territory are now paying between 31 and 83 per cent less on routes served by compressed natural gas and electric buses.

Tinubu disclosed this in a post on his official X handle on Saturday.

The post, accompanied by an infographic titled, “Cheaper transport, real savings,” cited state governments and PI-CNG & EV as its sources.

According to the President, the biggest reduction was recorded in Borno State.

He said CNG and electric city buses charge between N50 and N100 on routes where commercial operators demand between N300 and N600.

That represents a reduction of about 83 per cent.

In Oyo State, Tinubu said CNG buses deployed to Pacesetter Transport reduced the Lagos-Ibadan fare from about N8,000 to N3,200 during the initial deployment.

That represents a 60 per cent reduction.

The President said government-supported buses in Plateau State also transport about 13,000 commuters daily for N200.

Commercial operators, he said, charge more than N500 on the same routes.

In Adamawa, alternative-energy transit services have reduced fares by as much as 50 per cent, including a drop from N8,000 to N4,000.

Tinubu also disclosed that the deployment of 100 CNG buses in Enugu had reduced the Enugu-Nsukka fare from N2,500 to N1,500.

That represents a 40 per cent reduction.

In Niger State, passengers travelling on the Suleja-Abuja route now pay N550 instead of about N800, representing a 31 per cent reduction.

Abia State, the President added, has deployed 40 electric buses with fares subsidised by 50 per cent.

In the FCT, Tinubu said a partnership with the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers had resulted in a 40 per cent fare reduction on several routes served by CNG-converted commercial vehicles.

The Area 1-Gwagwalada fare, he said, fell from N1,500 to N900.

Nyanya fares dropped from N700 to N420, while the Wuse fare declined from N400 to N240.

“These are not projections. Nigerians are already experiencing these savings,” Tinubu said.

The President recalled that he met the governors of the 36 states on August 27, when they agreed that more Nigerians should begin to experience measurable reductions in transport costs from October 1.

He said an implementation committee for the National Affordable CNG Transit Programme was subsequently established under the Nigeria Governors’ Forum.

The committee is chaired by Kwara State Governor and Chairman of the Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq.

Tinubu said the initiative had become more urgent amid the global energy crisis.

He said disruptions to global energy supplies were pushing up petrol and diesel prices, as well as transport costs, across the world.

“Nigeria cannot control events in global energy markets. But as a gas-rich nation, we can reduce our exposure,” the President said.

Tinubu also ruled out a return to petrol subsidy.

“At a time like this, our answer cannot be to return to the ruinous petrol subsidy regime that consumed trillions of naira and left our economy exposed to every movement in international oil prices,” he said.