Despite the recent announcement of a 50% waiver on road transport and a 100% fare reduction for rail travel to alleviate the country’s high cost of living, especially during Yuletide, the Managing Director of the NRC, Fidet Okhiria, expresses concerns about the financial implications of the intervention.

In an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, Okhiria acknowledges the positive impact of providing comfort to the public but emphasizes the need for the government to defray the associated costs. He highlights the agency’s previous experience with fare waivers two years ago and emphasizes the importance of government support in covering expenses.

“This is not the first time. We did this two years ago. It was effective. I say we’ve yet to recover from that. But what is the government for? The government is to make sure that people have comfort as much as possible,” Okhiria said

“And we are quite willing and wishing to provide that service. You know, you don’t forget in other developed world, they get this thing either directly or indirectly.

“You recall during the COVID, even private companies were given relief, and those without jobs like in the UK, US, and everywhere…So it’s a good thing that the government considers we should do a free service, but they should also be willing to provide the resources to do it.

“We are hoping this time they are going to give us fuel and those 15 days we are going to provide the free service. They are also willing to provide at least the money we pay to the cleaners and the security.”

The NRC boss explained that the agency will buy diesel to power the trains and other expenses.

As the country grapples with the removal of fuel subsidies, particularly affecting road transportation costs, the NRC emphasizes the importance of government collaboration in ensuring the sustainability of the fare reduction initiative.