Ogun State Government has successfully converted 15 fuel engine buses to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered engines as part of palliatives to cushion the effect of oil subsidy removal on residents.
The converted mass transit buses will be rolled out for use by commuters not later than the second week of September.
Former Special adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Energy, Mr. Olaniji Aisiga, disclosed this to The Nation yesterday, saying efforts were also being made to convert more buses to CNG-powered engines after this initial pilot phase.
“We are almost done. We hope to roll out in the next one or two weeks. We have successfully converted 15 fuel engines to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)-powered engine buses. They are Mass Transit Buses. It is a pilot phase for us. In about two weeks’ time, we will roll them out 100%,” Aisiga said.
Governor Dapo Abiodun had in July while swiftly responding to the subsidy removal and the attendant hike in pump price of Premium Motor Spirit(PMS) popularly called fuel, mulled the initiative of converting about 2000 fuel powered vehicles to CNG powered engines to help residents of Ogun State cope with the increment in transport fares. The Governor also said the state government would set up fuelling stations for CNG to be positioned along the converted bus routes across the state. He disclosed this late July after inspecting the first successfully converted diesel/petrol buses to CNG.
According to him, his administration will leverage on the abundance of gas and pipelines that crisscross the state to position the CNG fuel stations along bus routes to ensure the sustainability, smooth running and successful transition of the project, he said. Abiodun also noted that old buses operating in the state would gradually be faced out as they get older, revealing that his administration would in the next three weeks launch its E-mobility programme.
