In a bid to ease the transportation burden on citizens, the Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has offered free transportation services to the Nigerians within and outside the state for upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays.
Commissioner for Transport, Davou Gyang, who revealed this in a statement in Jos on Monday, said the free transportation services which will commence on December 23, 2024, are meant to cushion the effect of the economic challenges being faced by the people.
Gyang said the Governor has approved the free transportation to cover both intra-local government travel across the 17 LGs of the state, as well as inter-state travel that will cover every part of Nigeria.
“Due to the current economic challenges, Governor Caleb Mutfwang through the Plateau State Ministry of Transport, has introduced a special Christmas and New Year holiday mass transit programme for Plateau residents and those in the diaspora,” Gyang said.
Giving a breakdown of the routes to be covered, the Commissioner said:
“From Monday 23 to Tuesday 24, all Metro Bus rides within the Jos-Bukuru Metropolis are free, with extended routes other than the usual ones.
“For inter-local Government travel, passengers will assemble at Plateau State Polytechnic for departure, to be dropped off at their respective Local Government Headquarters. Please note that two 18-seater buses will make eight trips daily on a first-come, first-served basis.”
The Commissioner also stated that for inter-state travels, passengers from the North-East coming into the state from Gombe, Bauchi, Borno, and Adamawa, would travel from the capital of their respective states to Jos.
“For the North-West – Kano, Kaduna, Katsina and Jigawa, passengers would travel from their respective states capital to Jos.
“For the North-Central, passengers from Nasarawa and Benue will travel from Makurdi and Lafia, respectively, while Abuja residents will travel from Abuja to Jos.
“For the South-South, Port Harcourt is the designated takeoff for Plateau indigenes in the zone, while citizens of the zone residents in Jos will take off from Jos.
“In the South-East, Enugu is the designated take off for Plateau indigenes from the zone, while citizens of these zone resident in Jos will take off from Jos.
“For the South-West, Lagos is the designated take off for Plateau indigenes resident in the zone, while citizens of these zone resident in Jos will take off from Jos.
“Take note that the return trip for inter-local government and inter-state travellers is scheduled for January 4-5, 2025,” the statement added.
The Commissioner, however, advised interested travellers to contact the leadership of Plateau State associations in their respective zones for seamless arrangements.
