By Brenda Izu
The Edo State Government has announced plans to commence the profiling of commercial drivers and vehicles across the state as part of measures aimed at strengthening security and sanitising the transport system.
The Commissioner for Transportation, Hon. Saturday Idehen, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin City while commending commercial drivers for complying with the state government’s colour code policy.
Idehen said the government deliberately adopted a less aggressive enforcement strategy to encourage cooperation among transport operators.
“Well, just to thank them for complying with the policies of the state, and we tend not to be very forceful in our enforcement as far as the people are complying fully, so we need to appreciate them,” he said.
The commissioner, however, urged operators yet to comply with the policy to do so immediately, noting that the next phase of the initiative would involve profiling drivers and introducing barcode-enabled identification systems for commercial vehicles.
According to him, the new system would replace the existing stickers with specially designed taxi, bus and tricycle lights embedded with barcode numbers for easy identification.
“This time we are going to use taxi lights, Keke lights and bus lights. From there, you will be able to know the code number of a particular driver.
“When you open the app we are going to create and download to your phone, in case of any emergency, you will see the details of the driver there,” Idehen explained.
He added that residents would also be able to identify commercial vehicles operating within their neighbourhoods, stressing that the initiative was designed to improve public confidence and security.
“As you are sitting now, you can actually know the numbers of vehicles in your street or the Keke operating there. It is a kind of optic we are going to create for the state so we can monitor the activities of drivers and instill confidence in people who use commercial vehicles,” he added.
The commissioner also expressed concern over the failure of some operators, including campus shuttle services and other recognised transport organisations, to comply with the state’s colour code policy.
“I think they are still pulling back, and I don’t know the reasons why. They operate in the state, and as far as they are using the state roads and transporting people within the state, we will not sit down and watch them deface the transport system,” he said.
Idehen disclosed that the ministry would formally engage the affected organisations to ensure full compliance.
Speaking on the security implications of the initiative, the commissioner said the profiling system would help reduce crimes associated with commercial transportation by making drivers and vehicle owners traceable.
“We must have the details of the drivers, including the owner of the vehicle. Once you see a serial number, you can go to the app and see the details of the person. I think that will drastically reduce insecurity,” he stated.
