Abia to Rollout 20 Electric Buses for Urban Mass Transit- Ukaegbu

In a bid to provide competition and subsidize transport fair in Aba and Umuahia, the Abia State Government will be rolling out 20 Electric buses for urban Mass transit by July this year.

The State Commissioner for Transport, Dr. Chimezie Ukaegbu made the disclosure in an interactive session with The Eagle News in his office in Umuahia.

Ukaegbu pointed out that the Ministry of Transport in the State has already mapped out all the routes for the buses, adding that there would be 10 charging stations within the selected areas.

“These 20 electric buses, are going to be like a pilot scheme. Once we use them, then later, more buses will be rolled out.

“As we speak now, training of the drivers is ongoing. And of course, there is no how you have electric buses without having charging stations for these 20 electric buses

“We’re going to set up 10 charging stations because each charging station can charge two buses at the same time. That has been mapped out in locations in Umuahia and Aba.”

According to the Commissioner, the Governor Alex Otti led administration, through the Ministry is currently building a Central bus terminal in Aba and Umuahia to serve as a one-stop transport hub for commuters in the State.

“Our intention is to have a central bus terminal that will stand as a one-stop transport hub for commuters and transporters.

“This central bus terminal in Umuahia and Aba is presently ongoing and Hopefully, before the end of this year the one in Umuahia will be completed.

“Outside the central bus terminal, we’re also upgrading the roundabouts in the State what we call the junction improvements, to modernize the City.”

Ukaegbu maintained that the Ministry had lived up to its mandates including ensuring adequate regulations and safety of drivers and the passengers, among others.

“Our duty as Ministry of Transport is to sensitize our people on road management and safety on the roads.

“There is need for we to actually get informed and when there is a constant reminder to people, it raises their consciousness so as to minimize road accidents.

If you check within this period, we’ve had less accidents on our roads because of the work we’ve been doing,” Ukaegbu concluded.