Commuters in Kano state have raised concerns over reduction of commercial tricycles on the roads, forcing them to trek or wait for long to get the vehicle.
BizPoint reports that tricycle has become the major transportation relied upon in Kano for over a decade.
However, this newspaper understands the high number of thr commercial vehicles is reducing on the roads in the second most populous city on Nigeria.
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It was understood also that the commercial tricycle operators are in dilemma as they are caught between passengers groaning over increase in fare and high petroleum price.
This newspaper also understood that commuters, especially workers and students, are seeing by the road sides waiting for commercial tricycles to take them to their respective destinations.
Commuters impatiently waiting for commercial tricycles at popular Kwanar Ganduje junction at Sharada area in Kano.
The commuters have resorted to trekking or report to their respective destinations late for waiting too long to get commercial tricycle.
However, a commercial tricycle operator, Isah Idris attributed the situation to high cost of petroleum, which forced many of the riders to abandon the business.
A married woman seen sitting by the roadside told our correspondent that she spent over an hour waiting to get commercial tricycle to ride her to Muhammad Abdullahi Wase hospital but could not get it.
According to her, she is sick and wanted to see a doctor but thinks of going back home since she could not get the commercial vehicle.
She decried that even if she get one, the fare has almost tripped what she used pay from Sharada Kwanar Ganduje to the hospital at Nassarawa GRA.
” I got one tricycle but the driver charged me N1000, the other said I should give N500. I don’t have enough the money to pay. I used to pay N200 from here to the hospital .
“This high price of petroleum is what has caused all this problem. I’m now thinking of going back home because the tricycles are scared and the fare is too high,” she decried.
Also, a commuter, Nura Michael lamented that he is reporting to his place of work late these days due to failure to get the commercial tricycle on time.
“I sometimes spend more than an hour or just decide to trek a long distance to my working place.
“Imagined, I live in Kawo area, trekking from there to Murtala Muhammad Way is not easy. I realize that there are reduction on the number of commercial tricycles in the town these days.
“We are suffering indeed. The government should come to our rescue,” Michael appealed.
Speaking with BizPoint in Kano, Idris said many commercial tricycle operators, especially those operating on ‘hire-purchase’, have dumped the business due to high cost of petroleum.
According to Idris, who has his own tricycle, the commercial operators had decided to go off the roads as they incurred loses due to high petroleum price.
” As a result of this increasing price of petroleum, many of us, especially those on hire-purchase’, have decided to dump the business for another, simply because of the high cost of fuel.
“To be honest with you, commercial tricycle operators are incurring loss as a result of high cost of fuel.
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“For instance, if you buy petroleum of N8,000, hardly would a rider make the same N8,000 in a day. No profit. How much balance would he take to the machine owner? How much would he get as the rider? How much would he save for the maintenance of the machine?
“These are the factors to be considered. If you make this calculation, you would see clearly the reason why the operators on hire-purchase’ are dumping the business.
“That is why the number of commercial tricycles has reduced on Kano roads. The situation is terrible and worrying,” Idris lamented.
