Why we use only 45% of vehicles in our fleet – Abuja transport company official

The Abuja Urban Mass Transit Company (AUMTCO) says it is currently using 45 per cent of the vehicles in its fleet due to lack of patronage by commuters.

The Head, Corporate Services of AUMTCO, Tunde Akintola, who stated this in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, said the Abuja residents prefer private vehicles to government-owned ones.

Mr Akintola was speaking on the difficulty residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are facing in the area of transportation following the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.

Mass transit buses (El-Rufai bus) parked along Kubwa expressway, Abuja [PHOTO: Premium Times – Emmanuel Agbo]

He said out of the 241 operational buses in the company’s fleet, it only uses between 89 and 90 of them within Abuja and other neighbouring towns.

“Presently we have 241 operational buses and we do use almost 45 percent of the buses on a daily basis. We have operational buses of 85 to 90 within Abuja and its environs on a daily basis. It depends on the demand of the market forces.

“Some commuters don’t want to board our buses (and) that is why we use 45 per cent, that is from 80 to 90 buses daily to convey commuters. These commuters prefer using privately owned cars,” he said.

He said ‘market forces’ determine how its buses are deployed for operations.

Mr Akintola said the 39-year-old company maintains a presence in the federal capital territory and other neighbouring towns but that its buses do not cover long distances because it is not economical.

According to him, the rising price of diesel affects the company’s operations, adding that it does not get adequate incentives since the fuel subsidy was removed by the federal government in May.

“We have our presence within Abuja and environs. We have our presence in Masaka-Nyanya axis, Mararaba axis, and we go as far as Bwari, down to the city centre. We also go as far as Mpape to the city centre, we go as far as Gwagwalada and Kwali to the city centre, then we go as far as Suleja-Madalla to the city centre. Those are the major routes and we do city centre operations including Deidei and Life-Camp axis.

“Moving people from Abaji to town which is more than 100 kilometres, is not economical because of the diesel price and others. It is only Abaji that we don’t go to presently and in the near future, we are going to consider it when we are able to work on the operational costs,” he said.

Mr Akintola urged Abuja residents to visit the company’s depots within the city centre to get their e-ticketing cards, adding that it charges N300 per trip on average.

He explained that once loaded with money, the card can be used to pay for the transportation charges one may incur while boarding the buses.

He, however, said that they can pay physical cash if they do not have electronic payment cards.