NEDC Deploys Electric Vehicles To Cut Transport Costs In North-east

The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) has commenced plans to deploy electric vehicles across Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno Gombe, Taraba and Yobe states to ease the hard cost of transportation in the North-East sub-region.

The Commission said that 10,000 electric tricycles, 300 electric taxis and 30 electric buses would be deployed while creating employment opportunities and promoting eco-friendly mobility.

This was announced during a two-day stakeholders’ engagement and sensitisation workshop in Bauchi.

NEDC State Coordinator, Aliyu Isiyaku, said the initiative was designed to provide affordable, safer and more environmentally sustainable transportation services to residents of the region.

The workshop, themed “Powering the North-East: Embracing Electric Mobility for a Cleaner, Smarter and Prosperous Future,” brought together transport operators, security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

Isiyaku said the engagement was necessary to ensure that relevant stakeholders understood the project and contributed to its successful implementation, particularly in reaching communities at the grassroots.

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He explained that the initiative was expected to reduce transportation costs, generate employment for young people, protect the environment and lower carbon emissions.

According to him, the success of the initial phase would determine the possibility of expanding the deployment of electric vehicles across the North-East.

Meanwhile, transport unions in Bauchi State commended the Commission and the federal government for introducing the electric vehicle initiative, describing it as a potential means of reducing transportation costs and improving the livelihoods of transport operators.

The unions urged the commission to distribute the vehicles through recognised transport associations to promote transparency, accountability and fairness in selecting beneficiaries.

The Bauchi State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Comrade Ismail Abubakar, commended the commission for the initiative and called for the involvement of transport unions in the distribution process.

He said working with the unions would help ensure that the vehicles reached genuine operators and were used for their intended purpose.

Abubakar added that the initiative could contribute to reducing the financial burden on passengers by lowering the operating costs faced by transport providers.

Similarly, the chairman of the Bauchi State Motorcycle and Tricycle Operators’ Association, Alhaji Bala Dauda, expressed the association’s readiness to support the NEDC in implementing the programme.

He said the association was committed to initiatives aimed at reducing transportation costs and improving the welfare of operators and passengers.

Dauda urged the commission to involve transport unions in identifying deserving beneficiaries, arguing that the associations were better positioned to determine the needs of their members.

The Zonal Chairman of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Comrade Abdullahi B. Muhammad, also welcomed the initiative, saying it could reduce transportation costs and create employment opportunities.

He expressed optimism that the introduction of electric vehicles would help address some of the challenges facing transport operators and passengers across the country.

The RTEAN chairman identified the high cost of petrol as one of the major challenges confronting transport operators, saying it had significantly increased operating expenses and made affordable transportation increasingly difficult.

He noted that the vehicles were expected to cover up to 300 kilometres on a full charge, with the charging cost reportedly estimated at about N5,000.

SOURCE: THEGUARDIAN