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Operators of both painted and unpainted taxis in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have called for the intervention of the FCT Administration to enable them have unhindered access to all estates, hotels and offices.
According to the operators, after following the strict requirements of the FCT Administration, they are still hindered from entering certain big estates, hotels, government and private institutions with high potential of passengers, causing a negative impact on their businesses.
The operators gave this indications on the sidelines of the launch of the Safe, Functional and Efficient Transport Policy in the nation’s capital at the Weekend during which the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello declared that investors have the options of investing in painted taxis or in unpainted taxis.
Speaking on the development, Alfred Ajagbe, Managing Director of MTI Taxi Limited who commended the FCT Minister for his commitment to transport sector, noted that lack of access to some places was not only disadvantage to the operators but also the passengers, especially those coming from other cities into Abuja.
“We have been fighting on that, if you give us restrictions that we must have comfortable taxis that are air conditioned, that are available to everybody, somebody is doing business in Lagos, is coming to Abuja, he takes a taxi to Federal Secretariat they said he cannot enter, he takes to a hotel he cannot enter, it doesn’t make sense”, Ajagbe noted.
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On the increase of unpainted Taxis in the FCT, the MTI Managing Director said, “we have taken that up with the Administration of the FCT and we have been looking at it positively, but there is also what the Minister said today which for me is a take home, that they are now ready to license unpainted taxis as long as they are regulated which means as we are now, we can also go into unpainted taxis.
On his part, Shehu Yar’Adua, Chairman Painted Abuja Taxis said, the FCT Administration should have made a pronouncement for estates, hotels and offices to allow them access into their premises to drop and pick passengers, adding that such pronouncement will also will engender public confidence in their services.
“I expect the Minister would have made a good pronouncement that henceforth, all painted taxis are allowed to enter estates because they are the most recognized ones. This will also give investors encouragement to bring out their vehicles. You don’t expect somebody to bring out a vehicle and you are competing with illegal operators”, he stated.
Similarly, Gabriel Uchenna, an operator of Abuja Painted Taxis appealed to the government of the FCT to allow painted Taxis to be entering estates, hotels and other places while cars should be thoroughly checked before registration.
“What we are trying to do is to beg government to allow painted taxis to be entering estates, the hotels and other places. Because of that even the ones that are painted before, some of them are changing their colours because of some estates.
What we are also begging government is to allow the operators know every body that is registered”, Uchenna appealed.
At the launch of the new transport policy, the FCT Minister called on investors in the transport sector to partner with the FCTA to help cushion the effects of enforcement of the traffic rules and regulations, adding that requirements for the registration of taxis/cabs have been made easy to encourage more participants.
Bello added that there was need for an attitudinal change by road users to safeguard the sanctity of lives, adding that the people have to realise that breaking traffic laws is unacceptable.
The Minister explained that the collaborative measures taken by the FCT Administration and the various security agencies in the FCT were geared towards ensuring that all traffic regulations are followed to save lives and ensure a safer city.
“On our part as an Administration, we are doing our very best to provide additional high capacity buses. We are also making much easier the process of registration of companies or persons that want to provide taxi services, as long as the vehicle meets the minimum standard that is required by law”, Bello said.
In a remark, Acting Secretary, FCTA Transportation Secretary, Alice Ode-Achu assured that the Administration was talking with estates to allow painted Taxis and even Tricycles access to pick and drop passengers.
“We are not chasing people, we are ensuring that people stick to where they are allow to ply. We are talking to estates to allow access. The issue of painted Taxis, we have even broken that jinx today, we have three car companies come into our premises to be inspected”, she said.
