FG To Introduce Solar Powered Tricycles

Indications have emerged that the federal government has identified land transportation as one of the priority sectors for emissions reduction as the country is set to introduce solar-powered tricycles known as ‘Keke’.

The Minister for Transport, Mr. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi is said to be working assiduously on introducing the solar-powered tricycles which are clean and non-polluting with zero emissions.

Disclosing this in Abuja Thursday, Committee Chairman on Short Code Social Media App of the Ministry of Transportation, Mrs. Anthonia Ekpa when the committee paid a courtesy call on road transport unions The union includes the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW); Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN); Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) and Amalgamated Commercial Motorcycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria (ACOMORAN).

These tricycles which are capable of carrying up to 4 passengers ferry hundreds of thousands of passengers in towns and cities across the country, mostly across short distances.

However, investigations revealed that a solar-powered tricycle costs about N950,000 compared to the conventional tricycle of about N550,000 while the absence of fueling costs and the lower maintenance costs far outweigh the cost difference between the two models.

While briefing ACOMORAN president, Alhaji Shehu Maihula Babangida on the need for its members across the country to use the shortcode *735*7# and the need to compute the number of its members.

She said the Ministry of Transportation is in collaboration with the Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Federal Fire Service, and the Department of State Securities (DSS) among others, to ensure effective implementation across the board. ACOMORAN and RTEAN President, Alhaji Musa Shehu Isiwele both commended the effort of the Minister while the duo pledged to ensure compliance by their members.

Source: Vanguard