By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna As Nigerians grapple with high fuel prices and rising transport costs, the Kaduna State Government...
By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna
As Nigerians grapple with high fuel prices and rising transport costs, the Kaduna State Government says its planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system will provide relief to commuters, with CNG-powered buses expected to make public transportation cheaper and faster.
Officials disclosed this during a one-day media engagement in Kaduna, where they said the BRT would be the first of its kind in Northern Nigeria and the second in the country after Lagos.
The proposed 24-kilometre corridor is designed to transport thousands of commuters daily while reducing the pressure of rising transportation costs on households.
The Managing Director of Kaduna Line and Acting Director-General of the Kaduna State Transport Regulatory Authority (KADSTRA), Engineer Inuwa Ibrahim, said the state had completed the design and planning stages and was ready to move to implementation.
He stressed the importance of public communication to the success of the project.
“Without media, our people, our citizens, will not be able to know what the state government is doing in terms of developmental projects in the entire state of Kaduna State,” Ibrahim said.
He said the project was also expected to create between 10,000 and 20,000 direct and indirect jobs.
According to him, the BRT system would deploy 120 articulated buses, creating employment opportunities for drivers, mechanics, ticketing personnel, security officers and maintenance workers, in addition to jobs associated with supporting infrastructure such as bus stops and shelters.
“Considering this number of fleet, even to say you have 120 drivers, the support, the mechanics, servicing, and so on and so forth. So there is so much economic benefit with respect to this project,” he added.
Ibrahim said the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) was central to the state’s plan to reduce operating costs and keep fares affordable.
With petrol prices rising, he described CNG as “cheaper and cleaner”, saying its use would contribute to lower fares and reduce environmental pollution.
“Because the fuel is greener. We are using CNG all through, which is cheaper and cleaner. Even our environment will be more cleaner,” he said.
The Project Coordinator of the Kaduna BRT, Engineer Aliyu Usman, said the project was designed not only to reduce transportation costs but also to promote a more sustainable and organised public transport system.
He described the initiative as a transition from informal to formal public transportation, supported by technology and climate-conscious measures.
Usman explained that the CNG-powered buses would emit significantly less carbon monoxide, thereby helping to reduce the state’s carbon footprint and contributing to broader efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
He added that an Intelligent Transport System would be integrated into the buses to enhance security, tracking and overall service delivery.
According to Usman, commuters would also benefit from reduced travel times, as the BRT would operate on dedicated lanes designed to ease congestion along busy routes.
He said fares on the BRT would be lower than those currently charged by informal transport operators.
On the implementation timeline, Usman said construction would take about one and a half years.
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