Yaris Cab Drivers in Edo State in their numbers were at the Edo NUJ Secretariat on Thursday afternoon to protest the plan by state government to start enforcing the order that they paint their cabs in special colours.
Led by their Chairman, Paul Ewoma, the aggrieved cab drivers said that they would rather prefer that they are issued codes instead of insisting that they paint their vehicles.
According to them, the idea of making them to paint their vehicles would come with a whole lot of hindrance, inconvenience and other setbacks.
Said Ewoma, “the painting of our cab is not the security, the code is the security. If you enter our vehicle you can snap the code, identify the driver and continue your journey. Painting the vehicle does not in anyway secure anybody inside the vehicle.
“What we are saying is that we want the code but the painting is going to rob our cab in the sense that we cannot move within Edo State to some certain areas like banks they will not allow us to enter inside because it’s a commercial vehicle; we cannot go to the airport; we cannot go to some schools etc.”
According to Ewoma, “we all know that if you charter a cab the essence is for the cab to take you to the doorstep of your destination. Now you dropping the person at the airport gate you’re telling the person to trek inside. It’s just a matter of time they’ll stop entering our vehicles.
“Again if you travel outside Edo State immediately you leave the shores of Edo be rest assured anybody can harrass you because they know the colour. As I am here I can assure you that there are lot of cars coming in from Lagos, Delta and other states to drop passengers here and are driving back. Nobody knows them, they’re more or less private vehicles.”
Going further, Ewoma averred “if those cars are painted be rest assured anybody can harrass them and disturb them on the way. So if that should happen to our vehicles we’re going to be facing that challenge. Also most of our vehicles are carrying private plate numbers and not commercial plate numbers.
“If they start enforcement it is just a matter of time less say a month or two most people would have complied. You find out that police, road safety and other agencies would begin to disturb our vehicles because we’re carrying private plate numbers but are painted commercial colours.”
Breaking it down, Ewoma disclosed: “If they force us into app and online companies that offer passengers. Yes, these apps give us passengers. They collect more than 25 percent from each passenger that they give to us. That exclude the fuel that we’re going to use for that service; it excludes repairing the vehicle; taking care of my family etc.
“If you force us to paint our vehicles it means you’re monopolizing this business. They can equally increase the price. Nobody will come for us. There must be check and balance to these things.”
Applauding Governor Monday Okpebholo, Ewoma stressed “we’re crying to our listening governor. He has been there for us. He is the only governor that have removed tickets and we know how that has benefitted us. Removing ticket has enabled our drivers to move round Benin at ease without agberos disturbing us. He has done a lot and he is doing the roads for us so that we can easily move. We love what the governor is doing. And we want to tell him ‘we understand what you’re trying to do but colour painting is not security. The code is the security. We’re ready to take it.’
“We’re pleading that the code should carry tracker so that our drivers too can also be secured through the code because they are kidnapping our drivers. If there’s tracker in that code we will be very grateful and happy.”
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