Taxi Colour: Drivers Violate Govt’s Order In Rivers

Despite warnings by  the
    Rivers State Ministry of Transport’s Commercial  vehicles  Standardization Taskforce and the Rivers State Road Traffic Management Authority (TIMARIV), directing all commercial  vehicle owners to paint their vehicles in the state approved  colours of sky blue and white , some drivers have  continued  to violate the order with impunity.
The Tide gathered  that most commercial vehicle operators  with unpainted  vehicles have remained adamant and refused  to  paint their   vehicles  as they hide  under the guise  of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and co-operative unions and so on.
It was learnt that some  private vehicles  which also engage in commercial operations (Kabu-Kabu) claimed that they use their vehicles for commercial transportation in order to help   stranded  passengers on the road.
But our correspondent further gathered that the  order by the commercial vehicles  standardization project of the   ministry of transport was aimed at properly  regulating the commercial  transport  sector as well as to enhance security in the state.
According to them, their directive  was to  ensure that all commercial vehicles in the  state are captured into the  electronic  database  of the ministry  for easy tracking, monitoring and management of enforcement on  vehicles   in the  state and also be issued  an MOT route  number  and a tracking  number in times of emergency security situations.
The Ministry stated that with the development, quacks and “kabu-kabu’ operators are totally eliminated  as they continued to constitute  nuisance and disregard road transport regulations of the commercial  transport sector, while they pose as threat to security in the  state by their non-registration  with the minister.
It was also gathered that the state government had earlier warned that any driver  operating contrary  to the order  which is contained  in the Rivers  State Road  Traffic  Law No. 6 of 2009 commits a traffic  offence and must be  penalized.
On this premise, the state ministry of transport and the Road Traffic  Management Authority (TIMARIV) had earlier  urged all commercial operators to comply to ensure security of  lives of passengers as well as to promote fast and easy identification of commercial vehicles and their  operators in the state.
Meanwhile, all efforts to get reaction from the  Commissioner for Transport, George Tolofari and the  Controller General of TIMARIV, Eke  Confidence proved abortive.

Storoes by Collins Barasimeye