Fidelia Soriwei, Abuja
Kaduna State says its free Compressed Natural Gas bus service has continued to reduce transportation expenses for residents, with the scheme now operating beyond its initial six-month plan.
The state Commissioner for Information and Culture, Ahmad Maiyaki, said the programme had transported millions of passengers since its launch in July 2025, providing free mobility for students, civil servants, traders, artisans and other residents.
Maiyaki said the state began the free service after 100 CNG buses were inaugurated in Kaduna in June 2025. The initial programme was introduced as part of the state’s subsidised transport scheme, with the government later extending the free service indefinitely.
He said the 100 buses currently operate across eight routes and about 200 designated bus stops, helping residents who would otherwise spend a significant portion of their income on daily transportation.
“Transportation takes a chunk of people’s income. Taking that off their shoulders is reducing the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“Instead of spending the money on transport, they have more money for their families, feeding and the education of their children. It has significantly improved the productivity of our civil servants because they can save between 40 and 50 per cent of their salaries that would ordinarily have gone into transportation,” Mayaki stated.
The commissioner also linked the free CNG transportation scheme to improved school attendance, saying the removal of daily transport expenses had helped students who might otherwise miss classes or leave school because of transportation costs.
“Some students drop out or miss some days of school because of the cost of transportation. But with this transport scheme, it has improved school enrolment and retention,” he said.
Maiyaki said the programme had also made it easier for residents to access healthcare and reduced transportation-related pressure on household finances. He further claimed that the additional disposable income had eased financial tensions within some families.
The commissioner said Kaduna’s approach preceded the Federal Government’s renewed National Affordable CNG Transit Programme, which is designed to expand cheaper CNG-powered transportation across the country.
President Bola Tinubu cited Kaduna’s scheme while announcing the national initiative, saying the 100 buses had carried about 3.2 million passengers in their first year and saved commuters more than N3.5bn in transport costs. The Federal Government has targeted measurable reductions in transportation costs from October 1, 2026.
Maiyaki said Kaduna remained the only state offering completely free CNG mass transit, while other states had adopted varying levels of transport subsidies. He added that the government had directed that the Kaduna service continue indefinitely.
“The government has directed that these free services should continue indefinitely. There is no window and there is no stopping; it is indefinite,” he said.
The state government is also compiling data on the programme’s performance since its launch. “We are concluding the data and analysing it. We are going to make it public on how we have done in the last 15 months.
“The President just acknowledged what we have done in 12 months. Now we are in the 15th month,” Mayaki said.
