By Ignatius Ushie
Disturbed by the apparent lawless attitudes exhibited by some of the licensed Taxi and Terminal Operators who use touts to harass motorists along the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) roads and highways, the Transportation Secretariat of the FCT has stepped in to arrest the ugly development.
Arising from a meeting with Licensed Taxi Operators, the Acting Secretary, Transportation Secretariat, Usman Musa Yahaya in a statement made available to Transport Day in Abuja, reminded them that Secretariat will not hesitate to invoke the sanctions as contained in the Provisional Operators License given to them where any is found to be operating outside the rules of engagement.
The Secretariat directed them to withdraw forthwith all the touts they stationed along the roads that harass motorists and other road users. The statement further directed them to stop using the highways as their parks; stop picking passengers on the fast lanes of the expressways, stop driving against traffic and stop beating traffic lights, adding that unpainted taxis (Kabu kabu) operating within the City, must stop.
The Secretary made it clear that henceforth, any unpainted or unlicensed taxi operator caught operating taxi services within the City will be forced to register with any of the licensed Operators and the car painted in chosen Licensed Operators’ official color code at his own expense.
The Secretary reemphasized that it is illegal to operate public transport services in the FCT without obtaining an operator’s License from the Secretariat just as Courier Service providers, all on-Line Transport operators are required to key into FCTA Operators License platform in order to operate lawfully within the Territory.
While stressing that all licensed Transport Operators are free to use any of the Terminals and taxi parks belonging to the FCT administration without hindrance, he called on motorists and pedestrians to use such taxi parks and terminals for passenger embankment and dismemberment activities.
He assured the residents that the “Transportation Secretariat will not allow acts of hooliganism in the guise of unionism in and out of all our Terminals stating that Abuja is a City established by laws and its laws concerning road transportation and other related matters must be respected and obeyed.”
