NAN-H-39
Fare
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, Dec. 18, 2016 (NAN) The FCT chapter, Nigerian Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), says transportation fare during the yuletide will be determined by market forces.
Mr Jibril Yemi, the Secretary of the union, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.
He said that the availability of fuel and the price as well as the prices of spare parts were major determinants of how transport operators would charge fare.
However, he said that the union had cautioned its members against unreasonable fare hike during the season, considering the current economic situation in the country.
He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to pay more attention to road construction and repairs of the existing ones as well as addressing the problem of fuel scarcity.
“It is due to the present economic situation we are in; we have been fair to the public in that regard but we cannot speak for other transport associations and companies.
“The union cannot determine whether the cost of fare will go up or not because our prices are determined by market forces as we don’t want to run business at loss.
“The market forces such as the price of spare parts and petrol are the major determinants of our prices.
“We have the problem of access to genuine spare parts and tyres and we have been calling on the government, through the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to ensure the availability of genuine spare parts.
“You will agree with me that spare part problem is virtually on everyone both private and commercial and when you don’t get genuine spare parts, the vehicle tends to breakdown along the road.’’
Yemi said that the national leadership of NURTW has been discussing with relevant stakeholders the need to have an automated garage where spare parts would be readily available for union members.
On touting at motor parks, the Secretary said that the current National President of NURTW, Alhaji Usman Yasim, had brought reforms and transformations to motor parks around the country.
According to him, the activities of touts have significantly reduced at the union’s motor parks because, a task force is headed by the president had launched a campaign against motor park touting.
“Like I said earlier, motor parks are owned by the local governments but we have collaborated with the security agencies over the years.
“If you talk of motor park touting today, it is not in NURTW parks because the president has personally supervised the activities in our motor parks and the Inspector-General of Police has commended him for that.’’
The NURTW scribe said that even though transportation business had become all-comers affair in Nigeria, NURTW remained the next highest employer of labour after government.
He urged the Vehicle Inspection Directorate (VIO) to ensure that vehicles were road worthy issuing the certificate, adding that the union had no facility to determine the road worthiness of vehicles. (NAN)
OYS/BOLA/NKO
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Edited by Bola Akingbehin/Nkechi Okoronkwo
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