Tricycle operators in Delta State have commended the state government for banning commercial motorcyclists in some major towns in the state and introducing the tricycle.
The tricycle operators said the short run benefits were encouraging and would attract more investments in tricycles business in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the state government on November 1, phased out commercial motorcycles popularly known as okada in urban towns of Asaba, Warri and Effurun.
The Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan-led government, prior to the ban, distributed about 3,000 tricycles to former okada riders through its association at N150,000 each to be paid twice.
Some of the operators of the tricycle, who spoke to NAN in Asaba, said they made an average N4,500 daily as against less than N2,000 as an okada rider.
Mr. Joshua Adebayo, a tricycle operator in Asaba said, “I never knew that the tricycle business would be as lucrative as it is today.
“When the state government announced that okada was going to be banned in Asaba, I was among those who kicked against it.
“But with what I am seeing today, I must commend the state government for the initiative. Tricycle is far better because we earn more, rest more and ride more comfortably with little or no stress.”
Mr. Kingsley Umukoro, also a tricycle operator, said apart from being more lucrative, the business was also more convenient and less stressful.
Umukoro said the phasing out of commercial motorcycles had brought sanity and safe transportation system into the state.
According to him, the ban on okada has also reduced the rate of accidents on the highways because okada accidents are becoming a daily affair in the area.
Meanwhile, some commuters, who spoke with NAN, commended the state government for the initiative, but appealed that more tricycles should be on the roads.
They complained that the tricycles were inadequate compared to the number of people who use them.
They also appealed to the state government to ensure that the roads, especially the link roads connecting the various streets, were put in good condition to enable tricycle operators ply the routes.
