Fielding questions from newsmen in Akure, the state capital, at the weekend, in company of his Transport Ministry counterpart, Nicholas Tofowomo, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Kayode Akinmade, said the free school shuttle programme had been successful because of the political will of Governor Olusegun Mimiko and the operational design of the programme, which made it civil-servant driven.
"The programme is basically a social responsibility effort of government and one of the caring heart programmes of Governor Mimiko" Akinmade said, adding that " it is one of the ways the government has been able to demonstrate its sincerity to serve the people and justify its mandate."
Speaking in the same vein, the Transport Commissioner, Tofowomo said "the free school shuttle started in Akure here, with the drivers employed with a minimum of school certificate.
" We have transport operations in the ministry with a director who drives the concept," he said.
Also speaking on the success being recorded through other endeavours of the Transport Ministry, Tofowomo said for the ultramodern motor park, otherwise known as drivers' airport, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) is in the system.
"We manage the affairs of the place through civil servants. Government has been able to lay a foundation in such a way that it is a civil servant-driven concept," he said.
He said the vision of government was clear regarding transportation in the state.
"The vision of government is very clear. The vision is to let the people feel the impact of meaningful transportation in Ondo State: good roads, easy access to linking communities.
"Government's vision is that if you are moving from one place to the other, you don't encounter delay on our roads.
" The vision of government is that if you don't have facility to buy your own vehicle and you want to enjoy public transport, you should be very comfortable and that is why government has given out buses, taxis to different unions like the NURTW, RTEAN, for them to bring succour to the people," he said.
This, he said, "has improved to the level of building a motor park; the ultramodern motor park we have along Ondo road is the first of its kind in this country where government can say, yes, we can guarantee your safety.
" So, our vision is to guarantee safety on our roads, to make the roads very accessible to everybody, and to even let our children feel the impact of meaningful transportation system in the state. That is what gave birth to the free school shuttle buses system." He said.
Culled from Tribune
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