In an effort to ensure the security of commuters, enhance safety, and improve the revenue base of Plateau State, the state-owned local security outfit, Operation Rainbow, is partnering with the Integrated Tricycle Transport Management System, ITTMS, to ensure that all tricycles and their riders are digitally captured in the state.
It was further stated that any tricycle and its rider not captured would not be allowed to operate within the state.
Speaking during an advocacy visit by the ITTMS team to the Operation Rainbow headquarters in Jos, the state capital, Brig. Gen. Gagji Shipi (retd), coordinator of the agency, said, “Capturing the data of these tricycle riders is one of government’s way of reducing crime and criminality in the state, especially within Jos-Bukuru metropolis, where most of them operate.”
He said further, “We are going to work with ITTMS to ensure that every tricycle and its rider are captured, letting them know that it is for their own good.”
Shipi maintained that there would be consequences for non-compliance, adding that, “These consequences will come to bear for those who refused to be captured, by making sure they don’t operate within the state.”
The coordinator urged the riders to ensure they are captured: “We are not here to victimise anybody. We want the tricycle riders to understand that this data capturing is for them to be secured, so that they can enjoy doing their work without any hindrance.”
Earlier in his remarks, the chief liaison officer of GIOPAT DC (ITTMS) Project, Salis Abdulsalam, said, “The first reason why government wants to digitalise tricycle operations in Plateau State is to improve the security, secondly for the safety of the commuters and thirdly is to ensure that the revenue the riders pay gets to government.
“The state government gave us a mandate to go and engage with security agencies, religious, traditional leaders and the media, to ensure smooth operation of the ITTMS project.
“So, today we are starting with Operation Rainbow, which is the state’s owned local security outfit, because it will be a disservice to visit other security outfits before coming here. So far, we have captured over 7,000 tricycles in our data.”
Speaking further, Abdulsalam said, “The essence of the mandate is first of all to capture, if you look at the current number on the tricycles, you only get the record of the owner, and that can only be found at the office of the Vehicle Inspection Officers, VIO.
“If a security agent wants to track an offender involved in a criminal activity; you have to go to the VIO office to get the information, which is even incomplete, because is only that of the owner of the tricycle you will get.
“This project is registering digitally all the riders, and by digitally we mean capturing their details biometrically, and would be updated once there is a change in the riders.
“When all these details are captured, a Cue-R code is installed on the tricycle, and there are two advantages; one is that, a commuter can scan the code and see the details of the rider, if you are not comfortable with the rider, you can send the code to your family members or close friends, through text message, informing them that you boarded that particular tricycle, so that in case of any bad incident, the rider would be easily tracked.
“Security agencies like Operation Rainbow, have the opportunity of having the backend of this information about the riders, which is not in the public domain.”
