When Johnson Efosa came to Abuja in 2002, he was used to pay N30 for transportation from Nyanya, a suburb of Abuja to the city centre where he works. Ten years after, Efosa is now paying N200 for the same distance and he is not finding it funny because according to him, it is telling on his income. When the federal government withdrew subsidy on fuel on January 1 this year, Efosa was one of those who protested with the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. The introduction of palliatives in form of buses by the federal government has given Efosa and other residents of the FCT some sigh of relief. He now pays N50 to Wuse, that is, if he is patient enough to wait for any of the buses provided by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT minister to cushion the effect of the partial withdrawal of fuel subsidy on the people. 
About three weeks ago, the minister launched a transport scheme, Abuja Urban Mass Transport Company, AUMTCO, to provide cheap transport to residents of the territory. Under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, the federal government provided 200 similar high capacity buses to the FCT while the ministry added 100. The buses, which ply Abuja routes are being managed AUMTCO in collaboration with the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW.
Transportation secretary of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Jonathan Ivoke listed the routes to be plied by the buses to include: route 1: Eagle Square/AYA/Nyanya/Mararaba-Masaka; route 2: Area 1, CBN Junction, Lungi Barracks, Mpape Junction, Nnamdi Azikiwe to Berger Junction at Area 1.
Others are route 3: Eagle Square/ Park Way (Sani Abacha way), Mabushi flyover/Kubwa Expressway/Berger Junction/Jabi/Karimo/Dei-Dei/Kubwa Expressway. Route 4: Eagle Square/Maitama Avenue/Lungi Barracks/Zuba/Suleja.
Route 5 will cover Area 1 flyover, Area 10/Herbert Macaulay Way/Jabi/Karimo. Route 6: Eagle Square/Lugbe Airport Junction/Kuje/Gwagwalada while route 7 covers Gudu market, Apo Legislative Quarters, Ahmadu Bello/Federal Secretariat/Banex Plaza Junction and Gwarinpa.
Adewole Amoo who resides in Masaka, a suburb in Nasarawa State said he was spent N500 daily before the introduction of the transport scheme. He said he now pays less than N200. The introduction of the new buses has forced down transport fare in the territory. Commercial bus operators who charged between N200 to N250 during the removal of the subsidy have brought it down to between N100 and N150.
There are however, fears that bad management might affect the operations of the vehicles. Raphael Douglas, spokesperson of a group known as Concerned Abuja Residents, wants the buses to be handed over to a competent organisation with technical and managerial know-how on mass transportation scheme to avoid what happened to the popular ‘el-Rufai buses’. Douglas noted that out of 192 Marco Polo Mercedes Benz buses procured by the AUMTCO in 2006, 115 have been grounded. He expressed fear that the new buses could suffer the same fate if measures were not taken to forestall such occurrence. In 2006, about 500 buses were provided by the Mallam Nasir el-Rufai administration when commercial motorcycles were banned from the city centre, but less than 20 of these buses are presently in operation.
Wilson Unogwu, deputy director mass transit of the FCT said apart from arrangements made to have maintenance workshops, depots and garages in order to make sure that the buses remain in good shape; they have also told the operators to set aside some amount of money to replace old vehicles.
Absence of dedicate lanes might equally affect the operation of the new buses. Unlike Lagos where dedicated lanes were provided for the bus rapid transit, BRT, the palliative buses in Abuja still struggle with other vehicles for right of way. But Ivoke said the launch of the new buses will not stop the transport secretariat from introducing the long-awaited BRT. “Adequate, wide and comprehensive traffic management in the FCT has already commenced while traffic markings, installation of signage and other control devices are also in progress,” he disclosed.
Unogwu told Newsworld that since the launch the operators’ license scheme, the BRT buses have been on ground. He said the secretariat is using the palliative buses to experiment the way the BRT would operate, stating that the FCTA is planning to employ about 700 Vehicle Inspection Officers, VIOs, to ensure an  effective traffic management system.
In the meantime, the authorities are using traffic cones to demarcate the marked lanes instead of barrels used in Lagos. A new traffic outfit enforces compliance of the BRT lane. Unogwu revealed that they are using the traffic cones temporarily because they have not finished moulding the barrels for the demarcation of the road for the BRT lane. One of the operators, Greater Abuja Operators License Scheme, attributed the delay in the take-off of the BRT to inadequate infrastructure. 
The planned new transport scheme was launched on May 24, 2010, which Ivoke explained was aimed at rejuvenating transportation in the territory by providing high capacity bus services, mini-bus services and car hire services. Five companies were given licenses to handle scheme. Managing director of Shaanxi Motors, Kunle Omoniyi, one of the licensees, said the delay in the commencement of the scheme was due to the inability of the FCTA to provide basic infrastructure.     Omoniyi disclosed that the scheme could not take-off effectively without the provision of bus terminals where passengers can buy tickets, as well as depots and bus centres within the territory. He said his coming will introduce 100 buses hence the infrastructures were provided. 
The introduction of the new transport scheme is also to reduce traffic congestion in the territory. Unogwu said the BRT will force car owners to park their vehicles because of the hold-up usually experienced in the FCT. “Once car owners discover that somebody that boards the BRT can get to town easily within 15 minutes and they spend a lot of time in the hold-up, they will be forced to abandon their vehicles at home.”
House committee chairman on FCT, Hon. Emmanuel Jime believes that the only key to tackling traffic issues in Abuja is the completion of the Abuja Light Rail System. Analysts however believe that if the mass transit scheme is to be the focal point, the only way it can succeed is to have maintenance culture and that government should intensify efforts to complete the rail system in the territory to reduce pressure on the road transport.

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