820 medium and high capacity buses under the public / private sector transportation Bus Reform Initiative are about to commence operations on Lagos roads soon as part of the state government efforts in meeting the yearnings of its citizenry on efficient and effective transportation system.
The State Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Ladi Lawanson, disclosed this today at the Secretariat, Alausa.
He said the deployment of the new buses will address the inadequacies of the present unreliable transportation system in Lagos metropolis.
“The State Government has designed the Bus Reform Project to correct the many challenges inherent in the present system, through the replacement of yellow mini-buses with air-conditioned vehicles of uniform specification, predictable bus schedules, and routes supported by appropriate infrastructure” he stated.
Lawanson also said the first implementation of the bus reforms which began with the construction and commissioning of the Ikeja Bus Terminal by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2018, followed by the completion of other terminals at Yaba, Oyingbo, Ojota, Agege, and Ajah as well as the Oshodi Transport Interchange masterpiece to be unveiled by the President before the end of his administration on May 29.
” The Bus Reform Project which will be technology driven to achieve a seamless integration of transport modes and passenger movement through 23 routes for efficiency and effectiveness on Lagos Roads, this will restore the confidence of Lagosians in the use of public transport facilities” the commissioner stated.
Lawanson added that 75 of the 100 bus shelters earmarked for the first phase of the Bus Reform project have been completed to support the operations of the buses, allying fears that the existing transport unions members will be sent out of business because the new scheme.
He further stated that 800 of the buses will be released to private operators through the operating lease model which has incorporated the current road transport operators – National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW) and the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) – as part of the Bus Operating Companies.
Lawanson urged citizens to take ownership of the project by guiding against misuse and vandalization of the buses when they become operational, maintaining that they are public utilities facilitated through tax payers money.