Kehinde Ogunyale
Following the complaint raised by students of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic towards the insufficiency of shuttle buses and cabs, Press Club MAPOLY gathered that a decrease in income generation, high levies and taxes remitted to the associations and the school management might top the reasons behind the insufficiency of shuttle buses.
It was also revealed that the dilapidated road network that lead to the school might also be a major factor. The bad road network from iyan-oloke to the school have allegedly caused major accidents in the school as well as condemned some part of the buses and cabs.
PCM discovered that most drivers stayed off transporting students to school dues to the multiplicity of bills which result into low profit.
These reasons might not be unconnected to the economical demands of the country as well as the ‘increased’ fixed price of petroleum products and increase in prices of shuttle /cab spare parts.
There have been mixed reaction trading the school management on its responsibility to provide adequate means of transportation for the students when coming to school as well as leaving. The institution which have a total number of 6 Tata long buses, have only 2 operational for this session.
Also, PCM reporter who conducted a survey revealed that a total number of a little over 30 shuttle buses are available at the popular Panseke-Oluwo bus-station to convey students down to school.
PCM reported that lectures are being missed as well as several valuables lost due to struggle for buses and cabs. In this process, many drivers, as observed, have alleged hiked the prices of transport as against the N40 and N50 to buses and cabs respectively.
At 7am, there usually a crowd of impatient students at Panseke-Oluwo axis, Iyana-oloke axis and other environs expecting a bus or cab. At the sight of any available shuttle, a mass struggle for space suffice.
PCM analysis showed that N5000 is paid to the management to acquire a ticket that authorize the driver to convey students to school. Another daily payment of N100 is collected daily by the school from drivers who operate that day. Another amount is collected by the associations daily for drivers who convey students to schoo; ‘owo load’.
This excludes association fee and the allegedly ‘occasional bribe’ given to monitoring or security unit to pass them.
However, some shuttle drivers faulted the attitude of some student towards the payment of transport fee as some of them withhold their t-fare thereby resulting to a reduction in money generated for that trip.
These have led to the conclusion of most drivers that, ‘transport to mapoly is not good business’ as they have more to lose than gain.
