The Federal Government has said that 160,000 passengers across the country benefitted from the End of Year Transportation Subsidy Programme initiated by the President Bola Tinubu administration.
Chairman of the Implementation Committee for the programme, Dele Alake stated this in an X post on Monday.
He explained that the initiative, approved by President Tinubu on December 19, 2023, provided free transportation on the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) routes and a 50 percent subsidy on transport fares for passengers traveling on 30 bus routes operated by the Association of Luxury Bus Owners of Nigeria (ALBON).
Alake described the programme’s implementation as a “tremendous success”.
“Our intention was to alleviate the financial burden faced by citizens, particularly during these challenging times due to the global pandemic and other economic factors.
“I am proud to share that between December 21 and December 31, 2023, the NRC conveyed 71,000 passengers, while buses under ALBON carried 77,122 passengers.
“Additionally, 652 bus trips from Oshodi Interchange in Lagos carried 15,766 passengers.
“These numbers demonstrate that a total of 163,878 passengers benefitted from the Presidential Yuletide Transportation Subsidy in the first 10 days of the programme.
“I urge cooperation from both passengers and bus companies for the return trips until Thursday, January 4, 2024, as the programme is still ongoing,” he said.
He said the success of this initiative exemplified President Tinubu’s care and concern for the Nigerian people, noting that would continue to monitor compliance and provide intervention when necessary.