ABC Transport Plc on Friday resumed passenger operations nationwide following the lifting of the ban on inter-state travels on Monday, June 29, by the Federal Government.
The front-running transport company has also deployed brand new luxury buses on its Executive Coach service, which departs its Jibowu, Lagos, terminal for Abuja, every morning as a premium option to the Sprinter service to all major cities in Nigeria.
Ahead of the re-start of operations, ABC Transport had trained some health officers on COVID-19 protocols, and upskilled them to be ready for any emergency that could occur, whether related to COVID-19 or not
This was in line with the directive from the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Transportation, which had circulated a comprehensive document on the guidelines for the safe re-opening of the roads.
The guidelines were designed to enforce the ‘3P’ protocols, which are Protect, Prevent and Provide, for all passengers and all the necessary COVID-19 preventive measures, are in place in order to ensure the smooth transport of people, and not the virus.
It was observed that, unlike most companies that rushed to re-start operations before fully adopting the necessary guidelines, ABC Transport lived up to its reputation as a meticulous and safety-conscious player in the transportation industry, by resuming on Friday; almost four days after the announcement.
It was learnt that the four days, from the day of the announcement to the resumption on Friday, allowed the company enough time to train the health officers and make necessary arrangements towards the safety of its passengers.
Commenting on the emphasis on safety ahead of resumption, the group head for Innovation & Strategy for ABC Transport, Victor Nneji, remarked, “It is better to be safe than sorry,” explaining that the company took it’s time to implement all guidelines outlined in the Ministry of Transportation document and can confidently say “we are in full compliance with all.”
He also noted that technology was being implemented to assist in booking whereby the booking platform automatically blocks seats next to passengers to ensure social distancing. Other notable measures are the use of strategically placed hand washing stations, seating restrictions both at the terminals and in all vehicles, infrared contactless thermometer and contactless hand sanitizer dispensers, regular sanitization of all vehicles, information boards and careful markings on the ground to assist customers maintain the standard two-metre social distance while on queues.
“There is also a ‘no mask, no entry’ policy for staff and customers,” Nneji stated, disclosing that the company was also encouraging its customers to use online booking platforms via its website and mobile application in order to reduce human interaction at the terminals.