Are you interested in doing business in the transport sector? Do you want to tap into the numerous opportunities in the road transportation industry? Then this article is for you. The transport industry in Nigeria is booming currently and Nigerians can now create unlimited wealth from this sector. In fact, this is one of the fastest growing business opportunities in Nigeria.
If you have been looking forward to creating additional streams of income to make your dream come true, then you can stop the search right now. Why? Because you have just come to the place where you will discover the fastest and easiest way to start earning money on your own that will help you turn your dreams into reality.
Nigeria has the largest road network in West Africa and the second largest south of the Sahara, with roughly 108,000 km of surfaced roads. The population is there and the environment is good. The road transportation is a good business, and more people should come into it. It is a business anybody can do.
6 Ways to Make Money Running a Road Transport Business
To succeed in transport business, you must first be ready to invest your time and effort to make it work. Proper supervision is also very important especially if you are going to employ a driver to manage it for you. But above all, you must give the best of your time and be serious with the business. In this business, honesty and hustling spirit should be your tenets. There a lot of lenders willing to finance your business.
With genuineness in your approach and proper planning, getting funding will not be difficult. If you have the opportunity to collect one or two Buses, or trucks from some of the financiers; you have to pay back the debt as at when due. This way, the confidence they have in you will increase and they can give you any number of vehicles you want. Below are the Different Sectors of the Road Transport Industry that You Can Target and Make Money
1. Okada Transportation business (Commercial Motorcycle)
The advent of okada in the national transportation system started in the early eighties, their operation has grown tremendously to a force that could be reckoned with. The names were usually a reflection of what the motorcycle transportation represents. In Cross River/Akwa-Ibom axis, it was nicknamed “akauke” meaning “are you going .” In Ibo land, it was nicknamed “Ina-aga,” meaning, “are you going.”
These names clearly illustrate the fact that once the traveler was ready, the motorcycles were also ready to convey the passengers to their destinations in no time. In Yoruba land it was called “tatakpukpu”, an onomatopoeia representing the sound of the motorcycle. To the Edo State indigenes, Okada Air, represented the fastest means of traveling from Benin to Lagos, just as the motorcycle was the fastest means of traveling between any two points.
It was for this simple reason that the Edos nicknamed the motorcycle mode of transport okada. Out of all the nick-names mentioned above, only okada seemed to have survived and has come to be accepted generally in Nigeria as the official nickname for commercial motorcycle operation.
Okada riders are making between N1,500 to N2000 a day. You can lease Okada out while you make as much as N50,000. For instance if you buy an Okada for N70,000, the driver should pay as much as N120,000 within four to six months depending on the contractual terms A new motorcycle goes for N65, to N80,000 depending on the brand.
2. Motorized three wheelers (tricycles)
Keke NAPEP is an experimental model of poverty eradication that seeks to empower the poor unemployed or underemployed Nigerian to a position where he / she can create a measurable and verifiable value in society in order to earn daily bread. KEKE NAPEP vehicles project, is a pet of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, in which the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) operates the scheme.
NAPEP purchase the vehicles from Manufacturers (Autobahn) and sell at subsidized rates, on part payments basis to Nigerians to alleviate poverty, by providing them small business opportunities and transportation for most part of the country.
However different brand of tricycle are now available in Nigeria .Tricycle make an average of N5,000 a day and a brand new tricycle is sold for about N400,000 to N500,000. They currently have an association called the Three Wheeler Beneficiaries/Operators Association of Nigeria.
3. Commercial Buses and Taxi
They are very relevant in Transport sector, as they help in moving individual to their various destinations. Commercial Taxi make between N3,000 to N5,000 daily, while the small buses make between N10,000 to N40,000 daily depending on the route and the number of passengers on board Some financial institutions have been so magnanimous by extending credit facilities to the association, the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) as the association provides guarantee for such loan, some private lenders has also extends credit facilities to new entrants in this sector.
4. Luxury Buses
Luxurious Buses in Nigeria started its operation 59 years ago with Ekenedili Chukwu Transport company taking the lead as the oldest transport company in Nigeria. As at today, a lot of Transportation companies has sprang up with a lot of buses in their fleet. There is emerging market in West Coast, this is because holiday makers do travel through the West Coast.
The West Coast is a good haven for tourists, and a lot of Investors in Luxurious bus transport in Nigeria has moved to this west coast to make more money. A luxurious bus cost about N25million with 57 to 59 sitting capacity, they charge between N3, 000 to N5,000 per trip and make approximately N150,000 to N200,000 a trip.
During peak period or season, which is during the end of the year season; they double their fares and make an average of N250,000 per trip. Some operators do have a park and accept buses from new entrants. So new entrants into this sector are advised to buy a bus and give it to some managers of established transport companies to manage on their behalf. All you need to do is to wait for your check to roll in at the end of each month.
5. Haulage Business
Haulage is selling like wild fire, The returns you will make mainly depends on what your truck will be doing. Haulage is a broad area and all spheres of haulage have its specific intricacies. However, the good news is that it is not so difficult to learn about the business.
How you enter this business is left for you to decide. You can decide to haulage for oil majors like TOTAL, OANDO, CONOIL or Telecoms companies like MTN, ZAIN, ETISALAT, GLO, etc or for manufacturing firms like NESTLE, GLAXO, Nigerian Breweries, etc.
However, all the companies listed above have stringent entry procedure and requirements, so your option of going in as an individual may mean merging with other people who are already in the business. All you need to do is sit back and wait for your monthly earning which can be up to 800,000k (depending on the type, age and tonnage of your truck). Even the Trucks in the Country now are not enough to satisfy the need of this sector.
There are some financiers that are ready to finance this project, if you can convince them. My research took me to some firms and I discovered how some Nigerians have been consistently collecting this money, I saw a long list of signatures with a correspondent amount. Almost 90% of the Trailers on our road are second hand and they are still OK, for starters, with N3M to 4M you can get a good Trailer
6. Tipper
They carry granites from Quarry to different part of the Country. Any investor in this type of business is advised to register with the Quarry, they make 2 trips every day and they charges between N30,000 to N35,000 per trip. A good tipper cost between N4Million to N5Million naira and you are entitled to about N400,000 in a month. You can also give your tipper to a manager to manage for you.
As a final note, I wish to personally congratulate you on your ambition to join one of the fastest growing businesses in Nigeria and the entire Continent. This dream of yours will definitely ensure a very comfortable living for you and your loved ones…… Guaranteed!