FIVE Most Reliable Transport Companies in  Nigeria Today

Road transportation in Nigeria is the most common and cheapest means of transportation for a huge percentage of Nigerians. While there are other means of transportation in the country like train service, airplanes, and many others, many Nigerians still prefer road transportation.

In fact, to the average Nigerian road transportation is the most reliable. However, over time, road insecurity has grown in the country, forcing many Nigerians to become wary of travelling by road. But, it’s almost impossible for every Nigerian to retract towards using airplanes or other means of transportation for their trips.

To curb the level of insecurity surrounding road transportation in the country, many Nigerians now rely on reliable transport companies to guarantee their safety while travelling. 

While there are so many transport companies in Nigeria today, there’s only a handful that many Nigerians consider reliable and prefer travelling with today. In a particular order, they are:

1. God Is Good Transport Company 

Today in Nigeria, GIG is regarded as the #1 road transport company in the country. Regardless of their high travel ticket prices, many Nigerians prefer travelling with GIG. This transport company rarely stops on the road, and their drivers abide by the company’s regulations. All of these add up to why many Nigerians prefer GIG over many other transport companies.

GIG Mobility formerly known as God is Good Motors began offering road transport services to the Nigerian public as far back as 1998. By 2009, the transport company which was started by Mr Edwin Ajaere began a rebranding project. This rebranding project was led by Mr Chidi Ajaere, the company’s current Chairman and CEO. According to him, he wanted to give the company a new brand image and one with an international appeal, away from the local perception of transport companies being controlled by touts.

By 2015, the company had completed its rebranding effort and would unveil its new logo and model terminal in Lagos. With its over 500 bus fleet including the new Mercedes Shuttle Buses, GIGM has remained a major force in the road transport industry in the country. At the moment, GIGM runs its company headquarters in Edo country, Benin town specifically and is likewise very visible in over 13 states across the nation with about 33 terminals situated throughout these states.

By virtue of its top-level services, GIGM has been recognized and awarded for these. Below is a list of some of the awards won by the company in recent times.

• Most Innovative Transport Company in Nigeria (African Center for Supply Chain) – 2016
• Road Transport Company of the Year (Transport Day Newspaper) – 2016
• Best Land Transport Company (Institute For Government Research Leadership Technology) – 2015
• Best Customer Service Company in the Transportation sector (Nigeria Customer Service Awards) – 2015
• Most Efficient and Consistent Road Passenger Transport Company (Institute of Transport Administration Nigeria) – 2014
• Service Award for Entrepreneurial Contribution to the Society (Nigerian Bar Association, Benin Chapter) – 2014
• Distinguished Gold Service Award for Excellence in Road Transport Management (Centre For Democratic Governance in Africa) – 2012
• Most Outstanding and Fastest Growing Motor Company (Nigerian Union of Journalists) – 2011
• Most Valuable Transport Company of the Year (African Child Foundation) – 2011

2. GUO Transports

GUO is another popular transport company in Nigeria that was founded by Chief Godwin Okeke who ventured into the transportation business in Nigeria immediately after the Nigerian-Biafra Civil War in 1970. 

Narrating the story of how GUO came to be, Chief Okeke, the chairman of ANAMMCO Ltd. noted that after the end of the war in 1970, he and his brother trekked 12 kilometres between Adazi-Ani community to Nnewi to confirm the report.

After confirming the end of the war, he took his parents’ Peugeot 404 saloon to Onitsha to check the state of their family business. He noted that while he was trying to return to his hometown, many passengers going to Enugu started pilling around his car.

Speaking on the matter he said: “They were asking me if I was going to Enugu and it was obvious they were not sure if any other vehicles would come around. So I took eight passengers to Ogbete in Enugu and charged them one pound each. Interestingly, when I got to Enugu, immediately the ones I picked from Onitsha alighted, the ones going to Onitsha rushed to my car and I took them, charging them the same amount.”

He noted that he would have made another trip to Enugu that night because many passengers were waiting and were stranded.

He went ahead to say: “In view of what happened that day, I arrived in Onitsha from Adazi-Ani as early as 5 a.m. to resume conveying passengers from Onitsha to Enugu and back.”  According to him, this became his initial foray into the transportation business. He later purchased a Volkswagen Combi bus to carry passengers from Onitsha to Lagos, and two Mercedes 911 for haulage and that was how the GUO journey started.

Today, GUO is one of the reputable transport companies in Nigeria, highly regarded and reliable. The company’s buses travel across the South-East, South-South, and South-West, with some of them going as far as the Northern part of Nigeria.

3. ABC Transport Company

Following right behind GIG on the list is ABC Transport which has garnered praise and trust from Nigerians over the years. While ABC has had its set of challenges over time, many Nigerians still find ABC a reliable transport company for travel.

Associated Bus Company Plc, also officially known as ABC Transport, opened its doors to the Nigerian public on the 13th of February 1993 as a wholly Nigerian-owned transportation company with its headquarters in Owerri. ABC Transport is the only mainstream road transport service company to be duly listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. In fact, the company was listed on the floor of the NSE on the 20th of December, 2006.

The transport company was founded by Mr Frank Nneji, who has remained the company’s current Chief Executive Officer CEO and Managing Director to date. The company currently has over 1300 employees in its books according to its Bloomberg Profile while conducting its operation in 6 different segments including,

• Haulage Services (One of the best logistics companies in Nigeria)
• Sprinter Operations
• Cargo Services
• Shuttle Service
• Coach Operations
• Hospitality Service and Trading

The company currently operates well with more than 500 vehicles strong fleet, while servicing as many as 35 travel routes and destinations with about 1,200 daily trips across those locations. Among the 35 travel routes mentioned earlier is the ABC Coach West Africa Routes which include destinations in Togo (Lome), Benin Republic (Cotonou), and Ghana (Accra).

With this, Nigerians can travel to any of these 3 countries by road using ABC luxury coaches for very affordable fares and would only require your international passport and yellow card. Interestingly too, ABC Transport holds Gold Corporate Partner status with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Nigeria which had in 2015 awarded the company as the pioneer luxury bus operator. 

So clearly, ABC Transport is a leader in the road transport industry and should definitely be on your top list whenever you are planning a road trip.

4. Peace Mass Transit (PMT)

As far back as 2012, 2013, and 2014, Peace Mass was one of the most reputable transport companies in Nigeria and was predominantly popular in the South-East. Over the years, Peace Mass has suffered from bad management which has affected its operations. However, Peace Mass still serves as the affordable transport for many Nigerians who cannot afford the high prices of GIG or ABC.

Peace Mass Transit became our third pick in the top 3 road transport companies in Nigeria for the year 2021. The company was formed by Dr Samuel Maduka Onyishi in 1993 during his undergraduate days at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. According to Mr Onyishi, he started the business with just two buses, and by 1999 when he was leaving the University of Nsukka, he had as many as 45 vehicles in his transport business.

By 2016, Peace Mass Transit already has about 4000 strong bus fleet with about 2000 of those being on the road on a daily basis. Only last year, the company introduced another 50 buses to their fleet with these buses being assembled at the newly completed PMT Vehicle Assembly Plant. This is one of the few transport companies that adopted the use of speed limiters really early. In fact, as far back as 2009, the company began installing speed limiters in their buses and according to their founder, this exercise resulted in a 50% reduction in accidents involving the company’s buses.

So without a doubt, Peace Mass Transit remains a big shot in the transport business in the country and is a deserving pick for this list. So if you want to make an online booking on the Peace Mass Transit website, then the following video should do the magic for you.

5. Chisco Transport 

Chisco Transport Nigeria is the brainchild of Chief Dr. Chidi Anyaegbu (MFR) who established the brand in 1981. Before venturing into a full-time transportation company, Chisco Transport moved from a micro auto parts retailer into a leading transporter and today, the brand has diversified, introducing the logistics and courier arm of the business.

Today, Chisco Transport travels across all geopolitics zones in Nigeria, and the company’s vehicles range from buses to luxury vehicles and Siennas that meet the various needs of their booming customer line.

Chisco is one other transport company in Nigeria today that many Nigerians find reliable. The company is a registered transportation company in the country, and its drivers are trained to abide by road safety rules. Interestingly, Chisco is also one of the most affordable road travel companies in Nigeria, which is also one of the major reasons why it has a growing customer base.

Conclusion

There are other reliable transport companies like Ifesinachi Motors and many others that have been in existence for a long time. However, in the grand scheme of things, the above-listed transport companies have gone mainstream in the country and are highly rated in Nigeria.