By Musa Ubandawaki, Sokoto
SOKOTO: The Sokoto State Transport Authority (SSTA) has launched a major fleet renewal and cost cutting initiative with the acquisition of seven new 18 seater Hummer buses valued at more than ₦511 million, in a move aimed at strengthening inter state transportation and improving passenger comfort.
The General Manager of the authority, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammad, disclosed this on Monday in Sokoto while briefing journalists on the ongoing reforms designed to modernize the agency, expand its operational capacity and reposition public transportation as a more efficient service.
Muhammad said the seven buses were purchased through the authority’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) at ₦73 million each, describing the investment as part of deliberate efforts to rebuild the SSTA fleet and improve its competitiveness in the increasingly challenging transport sector.
“Each of the new 18 seater buses 18 will be carrying sixteen passengers to bolster passenger comfort,” the General Manager said, stressing that the decision was intended to balance operational efficiency with the welfare and convenience of commuters.
He disclosed that all seven buses had already arrived in Sokoto and would soon be formally unveiled by Governor Ahmed Aliyu Sokoto, adding that the vehicles would immediately strengthen the authority’s inter state operations and expand its capacity to serve passengers across major routes.
Muhammad further revealed that the SSTA had ordered three additional 18-seater buses at a combined cost of ₦219 million, bringing the latest fleet expansion programme to 10 new buses and underscoring the administration’s drive to modernise public transportation infrastructure.
Beyond fleet expansion, the authority is also pursuing an aggressive transition from petrol-powered vehicles to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as part of measures to tame soaring operational expenses and ensure the sustainability of its transport services.
According to him, the CNG conversion programme began with the authority’s “Iyaye Mata” vehicles, designed to provide subsidised transportation services for women, with the converted vehicles already completed and deployed for operations.
“The exercise started with our ‘Iyaye Mata’ vehicles for women, and it has already been completed and deployed on the road,” Muhammad said, explaining that the initiative became necessary because of the prohibitive cost of petrol and its damaging impact on the economics of public transportation.
He said the authority had commenced the conversion of its fleet of 20 vehicles at a cost of ₦750,000 per vehicle, noting that the vehicles have six-cylinder engines that consume substantial quantities of petrol and had become increasingly difficult to operate profitably.
“Out of the 20 vehicles, we started the conversion recently. Each car costs ₦750,000 to convert to CNG. The vehicles are six-cylinder engines which consume a lot of fuel,” he said.
The GM lamented that escalating fuel costs had placed enormous pressure on drivers, explaining that a driver could spend about ₦15,000 or more on 10 litres of petrol while struggling to generate even ₦3,000 in daily returns, a situation he said had discouraged some drivers from operating the vehicles.
Muhammad explained that drivers operating the “Iyaye Mata” vehicles currently remit ₦2,000 daily to the authority for operations between 6am and 6pm, while passengers pay between ₦150 and ₦300 per trip, depending on distance, with the government effectively subsidising the service to keep fares affordable for residents.
He said the authority would extend the CNG conversion programme to its bigger buses after completing the current phase, expressing confidence that the combination of fleet renewal and cheaper fuel would reduce operating costs, improve reliability and service delivery, and make SSTA transportation more competitive.
The General Manager reaffirmed his commitment to prudent management, transparency and accountability in the utilisation of the authority’s resources, insisting that the ongoing reforms were anchored on responsible stewardship. “Therefore, I will continue to uphold the trust reposed in me by the state government,” Muhammad declared.
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