As Lagos State government releases restructuring plans to improve commuting experience, in line with the Strategic Transportation Masterplan, it has called for the collaboration of commercial cum informal public bus operators.
At the meeting with bus operators and union leaders in the State, Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, lamented the current chaotic state of bus operations, and called for collaboration from the bodies, using Lekki/Epe corridor as a pilot test, to successfully regulate and integrate the informal transport sector into the state’s Bus Reform Initiative .
Giwa further intimated that the Lekki Epe corridor had been inspected by the Ministry of Transportation and Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority to identify limitations of seamless traffic flow along the expressway and adjourning roads and had mapped out systematic framework to address these challenges.
The special adviser enumerated some of the planned solutions to include; the restructuring of the existing unregulated public transport bus operations on the Lekki Epe corridor, deployment of high-capacity buses on the corridor as stated in the Lagos transport policy and the bus route network, re-allocation and relocation of minibuses to inner route, re-registration and recertification of all buses.
Others added are the introduction of e-ticketing system, provision of transport infrastructure (layby, terminal etc), regulation and standardization of bus operations, improved transportation services that is safety and passenger comfort and promote the security of lives and properties along the Lekki-Epe corridor.
Announcing that the restructuring plan will be implemented in phases, the special adviser urged Transport Operators who intend to key into the restructuring program to come to the Ministry of Transportation to register within the next two weeks.
According to him, the registered operators will be allotted routes by the Ministry to ensure strict compliance to the strategy.
Stating that the State Government will not accommodate willful disregard of its existing Transport Sector Reform Law, he warned every operator to comply with the regulations, adding that anyone who contravenes it will not only be fined but forfeit their vehicles in the event that they ignore the notice of their fines.
Addressing the concerns raised by members of the unions, The ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olawale Musa explained that the state government is counting on them to fish out unregistered operators along the Lekki-Epe corridor, affirming that Lekki –Epe Expressway would be a pilot test for the standardization of the transportation system in Lagos.
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