Uniforms for bus conductors to guarantee commuters’ safety, says Amaechi

The introduction of official uniforms for bus conductors will ensure safety and bring more development to the nation’s transport sector, the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has said.

Amaechi spoke at the launch of the Bus Conductors Association of Nigeria (BCAN), an affiliate of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and inauguration of the official uniforms for members of BCAN, Lagos State chapter, yesterday.

The minister, represented by the Director, Road Transport and Mass Transit Administration in the ministry, Mrs. Anthonia Ekpa, expressed his support for the initiative.

According to him, 95 per cent of Nigerians are commuters and users of the public transports. “You have to change the perception of the people; you have to create a positive impression about yourself and make yourself accessible. This is because you are the first point of contact to the public,” Amaechi told the bus conductors.

He urged women to register as members of the association in view of the positive image being carved out base on the current attitudinal change and transformation introduced into conducting.

Also, national president of the TUC, Mr. Bobboi Kangama, said introduction of official uniform for the conductor was to ensure safety and security of the commuters.

“Bus conductors are being fingered as the culprits and accessories to the commission of crimes, which have over the years been plagued with the twin evil of ‘one chance’ and kidnapping through the use of commercial buses,” he said.

In his remarks, the national president of the association, Prince Israel Adeshola, said the introduction of official uniform was to tackle the security challenges facing transporters in the state.

“Gone are the days when people attribute thuggery and touting to conductors, we are now organised with over 4,000 members in Lagos State. For anyone to be a bus conductor in Lagos, he or she would have to attend the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute before being given the official uniform and an identity card.”