Airport Taxi operators plan change of business as Abuja Metro line kicks off
A number of Airport Taxi operators at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja on Thursday, gave an indication of possible change in line of business following the effective takeoff of Abuja Metro line inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Some of them, who spoke to Business Hilights Abuja Bureau chief reasoned that the rail service linking the airport with the city centre, will cause serious drop in patronage from air passengers landing at the airport.
However, Alhaji Umaru Haruna who operates his Taxi business with Toyota Land cruiser Jeep said he may not consider changing his line of business as there must be some Politically Exposed persons (PEPs) who may look at their status to avoid the rail services, adding that many passengers usually prefer taxi so as to get to their exact destination on arrival.
The Minister of State for Aviation, Capt. Hadi Sirika had argued during the inauguration of the rail terminal that the Metro line would make transportation more efficient, adding that it would allow people to connect to their businesses and work places in much faster time than before.
He said “It will reduce the pressure on our roads, ease traffic congestion on all the arteries that lead to airports around the world.
“So, Abuja will be a classical example of multi modern integration and transportation which eases things and makes them better,” Sirika averred.
However, in a swift response, Senator Ben Murray-Bruce gave a NOTICE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC shortly after the inauguration that “The Abuja Light Railway project today commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari is NOT an example of the present administration’s delivering on its promises, as the President claimed today. That is factually incorrect. That is a project by the previous government. It was initiated by President Obasanjo and most of the work was completed by the Yar’Adua and Jonathan regimes. Truth must be sacrosanct!”
