When Oladeji Ibrahim, popularly known as Dikko, took over the helm of affairs at Pacesetter Transport Services, a company owned by the Oyo State government, in July 2023, only five buses were functional in its fleet – this figure is evidently far too minute to cater to the mass transportation need of one of the country’s largest states.
Less than two years after his appointment as the Chairman and Sole Administrator of the company, Dikko has redefined what it means to run a state-owned transportation company. Today, the number of functional buses under the company’s control has increased by more than 22 fold to one hundred and eleven.
The driving force behind this growth is simple: Oyo State needs a mass transit system that provides a reliable means of transportation for its population at a subsidized rate, Dikko told newsmen at a recent media parley where he gave an account of his stewardship of the company since he was appointed by the Governor.
According to him, today, the company has more than half a million subscribers on its system and is responsible for commuting more than 70,000 residents of the state on a daily basis.
A breakdown of the company’s fleet and operation shows that it has 81 buses plying scores of critical routes in Ibadan, the state capital. Another set of buses transport people within and between other areas of the state.
In December last year, driven by the need to expand the company’s capacity and take the pace-setting brand of the pacesetter State outside, the company launched its interstate service. It started by introducing 16 new buses, transporting travellers between Ibadan and Lagos daily.
“We deployed 14 buses to Lagos on December 15 last year. Between then and now, we have commuted over 16,000 people between Ibadan and Lagos,” Dikko explained to journalists at the company’s office in Ibadan on Thursday.
In March this year, driven by the same expansionist blueprint and fuelled by the positive feedback from the Lagos-Ibadan service, the company launched on a new route, transporting passengers between Ibadan and Abuja and vice-versa everyday.
“We launched the Ibadan- Abuja and Abuja-Ibadan routes this month with six buses,” Dikko noted.
Across the two inter-state services, the company transports travellers at a heavily subsidized rate. Despite this, it still provides excellent service that includes refreshment, fully air-conditioned buses, and CCTV security system.
The reason for this, from the company’s point of view, is simple. The company wants to live up to its name by being the pacesetter, not in the state, but in the country. “It’s the assignment my principal, Governor Makinde, tasked me with,” Dikko added
