Commuters travelling from Yenagoa to cities within and outside Bayelsa are now using Mercedes Benz 911 trucks, popularly known as tipper lorries, as their latest means of transportation.

The Tide reports that this development is to enable them get to areas rendered impassable by recent flooding.

The linkage roads from Yenagoa to areas such as Ahoada, Otuoke, Port-Harcourt and other cities have been over-run by flood and have become impassable for cars, jeeps and commuter buses.

Consequently, many tippers and other trucks used for conveying items such as sands and goods have been converted to passenger-carrying vehicles.

The Tide reports that wooden benches were often put in place in the open trucks for the comfort of passengers.

In addition to this, wooden ladders were also made available as stairs for the commuters to climb into the trucks.

The operators of these trucks also charge exorbitant fares, taking advantage of the desperate commuters who have to travel out of the state.

A commuter, Ebinemen Damaro, told our correspondent that  she paid N6,000 as fare to ride on a truck from Yenagoa to Port-Harcourt.

The normal fare on bus rides before the flooding was between N1,000 and N1, 500.

The Tide further reports that the situation has resulted in a lull in business for the commercial bus operators as passengers deserted their vehicle parks for the truck parks.

However, some of the travelers disclosed that their ordeal on the road in the trucks was unpleasant, as they spent between eight to nine hours from Port-Harcourt to Yenagoa, a journey which should not have taken more than ninety minutes in buses.

The worst-hit of the flooded areas, according to the passengers, was the Ahoada junction on the Yenagoa-Port-Harcourt road which has been taken over by flood.

The Yenagoa city itself was not left out of the flooding as some areas have been taken over by the water.

Residents of Onipa and Igboginni areas of the city centre had been evacuated to designated camps in the state, while canoes were used to move people and goods out of their residence.

Our correspondent recalls that President Goodluck Jonathan had disclosed on Monday that his residence at his country home in Otuoke was not left out of the ravaging flood in the state.

Speaking while launching the “Saving one million lives” health programme at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, Jonathan had said water had reached the window level in his Otuoke house.