The Nigerian Government has announced that the electronic ticketing service at the railway would be operated by a concessionaire.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, on Thursday, while officially inaugurating the service on the Abuja-Kaduna rail corridor, said the initiative was a public private partnership valued at N900m.
According to him, the concessionaire, SecureID, will provide the service for 10 years to recoup its investment before reverting ownership to the Nigerian Railway Corporation.
The minister said the online ticketing solution marked the beginning of automation of ticket sales in all major stations on the Abuja-Kaduna train service.
Amaechi stated that the e-ticketing solution was introduced to address ticket racketeering at the Abuja-Kaduna train stations.
READ ALSO: Govt Opens Portal For Online Booking Of Train Tickets
“It is in line with global best practice and will enhance efficiency, save time and promote accountability, while also reducing leakage and promoting economic growth,” the minister said.
The Chairman of the Governing Board of NRC, Ibrahim Musa, said the e-ticketing solution had finally put an end to the persistent allegation of ticket racketeering at the train stations.
The Chief Executive Officer, Secure ID Solutions, Kofo Akinkugbe, said the inauguration of the service would lead to multi-model ticketing in public transportation, while allowing for passenger convenience, efficiency and accountability for operators.
She said the service would provide data for government to make informed decisions that would enhance the operations of the country’s railways.
Akinkugbe further stated that the e-ticketing solution after a successful pilot programme that was done last week had issued 25,000 tickets online.
According to her, the solution offers an increased customer experience such as convenient ticket purchase 24 hours a day, seat selection, secured online payments, no physical interaction, among others.
