Keke Operators’ Restriction: Buses, Taxi Cabs Hike Fare

Following the current order restraining tricycle operators popularly known as “Keke Napep” not to operate beyond 7pm in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, commercial bus and taxi drivers have seized the opportunity to hike fares.
The Tide reports that the 7pm restriction for Keke operation time came at the heels of the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike marching order to Traditional rulers mandating them to tackle insecurity in their respective domain.
Based on this mandate, Royal fathers in the respective communities pegged 7pm as closing time for tricycle operators whom they alleged were involved in robbery and snatching of bags in the area.
Though the restriction order did not go well with the tricycle operators, Mr Sunday Amanwo a Keke driver, attested to the fact that most of the drivers were into robbery, saying that there was an incident at night where a keke double crossed a vehicle and robbed the car owner then zoomed off untraced. He also noted an incident where unsuspected victims bags were snatched with keke, lamenting that the criminal activities of some of the operators had portrayed their business in a bad light.
Meanwhile commercial bus and taxi drivers who have taken over the job of keke drivers had hiked the transport fares in some of the routes in the area.
Speaking to our correspondent, a taxi driver, Ibe Jorome who ply along Rumuokoro, Rumuagholu route, said the hike on transport fare from the usual N50.00 a drop to N100.00 was burn out of high demand for their services.
According to him, “the 7pm time was a rush hour and the passengers were more than the available buses and taxis, so the only option was to reap from the business opportunity. But it would be temporary pending when commercial buses and tax would flood the route which would eventually force the price back to N50.00.
A passenger Mr Ijeoma Wordu who spoke to our correspondent, lamented over the untold hardship time restriction had caused them, saying that at the close of market on Saturday, she and two children had to treck over six kilometer to their home due to lack of keke.
She also said that the available commercial buses and taxis were hard reach due to rush by crowd inspite of the hike in price.