The E-Mobility and Gas Mobility Programme of the Ogun State government want to convert mass transit buses from fuel to gas and tricycles and motorcycles to electric.energy
The Ogun State government has announced a scheme for converting mass transit buses in the state from Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) fuel, better known as petrol, to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
The state made the announcement on Wednesday just as a four-person technical team arrived in the state to begin the process.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi, announced this through a statement on Wednesday.
Mr Talabi said the scheme would bring relief to the people of the state from the hardship attendant to the removal of petrol subsidy.
According to the official, the state’s mass transit buses will start running on CNG in the coming days, in line with a promise by Governor Dapo Abiodun’s administration that the project would take off in the first week of August.
Mr Talabi sai the development signals the commencement of the E-Mobility and Gas Mobility Programme of the state government, which involves the conversion of mass transit buses from fuel to gas and tricycles and motorcycles to electric.
In the statement, Mr Talabi said the team would train local auto mechanics and technicians on CNG conversion.
This, he said, will ensure technology transfer and create jobs for the teeming youths in the state.
He added that the conversion process is expected to take between four to six weeks, involving the Bus Mass Transit buses currently in operation in the state capital, Abeokuta, and others to be deployed in the fleet to serve the Mowe-Berger axis.
“The CNG team is on the ground. I was part of the team that received the CNG kits on behalf of the government early in the year, and I visited the project site this morning (Tuesday). His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun, is a man of his word, and such a highly progressive Governor deserves all necessary support for Ogun State to continue progressing.
“The aim is to improve and modernise bus operations in Ogun State by converting buses to Compressed Natural Gas by equipping them with the latest technology to improve environmental and operational performance.
“Moreover, the newly fitted buses are expected to improve public transportation reliability, safety and efficiency and reduce polluting air emissions. The pilot project will commence with converting twenty buses from diesel to CNG and exploring the performance before rolling out the programme.”
