ABUJA – The Vehicle Inspection Office(VIO) says unpainted taxi cab drivers are constituting threats to orderliness, lives and property of unsuspecting commuters and estate proprietors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
It’s Public Relations Officer, Mr KK Iloduba, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
Iloduba said that unpainted taxi cabs were also the violators of the rules and regulations in the FCT.
According to him, the authorities find it difficult to trace unpainted taxi cabs in the event of committing any crime“ because they have no record with the authority”.
“It is more secure to allow a painted taxi because if anything happens, that taxi can be traced.
The owner of that vehicle or the driver can be held accountable.
“It is folly on their side to allow the violators to gain access into their estates and disallow the ones that are approved by the government access into their estates.
“We’ll keep on talking to them until the compliance is a hundred per cent.
“The Secretary of Transport Secretariat, FCT, he has gone on air severally, in respect of this view.
“He has made announcements, he has instructed all estate developers and estate owners to allow only painted taxi cabs access into their estates.
“But some of the estate owners or developers are still recalcitrant.”
He also said that unregistered commercial drivers were operating illegally in the FCT, advising the public to be wary of their activities.
“There is a subsisting ban on the use of private vehicles for commercial purposes in FCT.
“The FCT traffic regulation posits that if you must indulge in commercial transportation in FCT, you must comply with the policy of the business.
“You have to register the vehicle with commercial plate number.
“And for security purposes and for orderliness we have a number of regulators that are working with us, you must register with one of them.
“And, to be easily identified on the road, you must have the colour of the operator you registered with, we have many.
“By using a private vehicle to do commercial business in FCT you are defrauding the government of revenue.”
Iloduba also called on motorists in FCT to ensure their vehicles were road worthy so as to avert unwarranted breakdown of rickety ones capable of obstructing free movement by other road users. (NAN)