Commissioner for Transport in Niger, Hadiza Kuta, on Wednesday in Minna advised residents to shun tricycles without tracking codes or those with mutilated codes to ensure their safety.

Ms Kuta told journalists that all tricycle operators in the state have tracking numbers, which can be snapped with phones for easy tracing.

“Do not board any tricycle without a tracking number; if you do not see the code, do not board,” she said. “This has become necessary in the event they forget valuables inside the tricycle, or they are robbed.’’

M Kuta said the ministry had received reports that some tricycle operators scratched off the tracking codes on their vehicles to make them difficult to track and advised against boarding such tricycles.

She said the government was also perfecting its plan to introduce a school bus scheme for pupils and students to ease the transportation burden of parents.

The commissioner explained that the school bus scheme was part of the free education programme promised by the governor to encourage children to go to school.

Ms Kuta added that government would also buy buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for the Niger State Transportation Authority.

She said this would make the company rely less on petrol and make transportation cheap, consequent upon the removal of fuel subsidy.

The commissioner said Niger would reintroduce various means of transportation, such as rail and water transportation also, to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

“We are planning to strengthen intra-city, inter-local government areas and inter-state mass transportation services in Niger,’’ Ms Kuta stressed.

(NAN)