Metro
Lagos Unveils 500 Mini Buses for Intra-City Transportation, to Begin Operation in Oshodi, Mushin Others
To ease movement within the inner and rural areas of the state, Lagos State Governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, launched the first phase of the 5000 commercial buses meant for the First and Last Mile (FLM) Scheme.
The governor was optimistic that with the buses, Lagos residents would have better commuting experiences across the state. According to him, the buses will also provide the needed alternative means of journeying across the state.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed that passengers and the drivers expected on board the buses are fully insured, stating that the goal is to ensure residents have a comfortable means of commuting.
The governor unveiled the 500 buses already on ground as more buses are being assembled for the FLM project, promising that more of the buses would be deployed as soon as they are coupled. He said the 500 buses would be deployed to five of the eight routes already marked out for the FLM Scheme.
Sanwo-Olu said the FLM has been conceived, as the name implies, to take care of commuting between the main transit corridors and the hearts of the communities, where the bulk of the people reside and where the high capacity buses would normally not pass through.
He added the launch of the First and Last Mile (FLM) Bus Scheme is an important milestone in our quest to achieving the intermodal transport system which gives our teeming population the choices they deserve, reducing congestion and journey times, and improving the quality of life.
“The restriction of motorcycles and tricycles in the six local councils and nine local council development areas created a mobility gap which was required to be filled urgently. Thus, the FLM scheme became imperative within the areas where commercial motorcycles and tricycles had been restricted,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“Consequently, the Lagos State Ministry of Transportation in conjunction with the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority activated the First and Last Mike Bus Scheme as detailed in the STMP and soon delineated the state into eight zones for ease of it’s implementation and operations. The zones are: Zone 1: Ikeja and Ketu ; Zone 2: Oshodi, Mushin and Surulere; Zone 3: Berger, Yaba and Oyingbo; Zone 4: Lagos Island, Ajah and Ibeju-Lekki; Zone 5: Iyana-ipaja and Agege; Zone 6: Orile, Mile 2, Iyana-iba and Ajeromi; Zone 7: Ikorodu and Zone 8: Epe and Badagry.”
Sanwo-Olu said the FLM routes are essentially community based routes that are currently majorly served by the rickshaws or tricycles known as Keke napep or Keke marwa and commercial motorcycles. “The implementation of the FLM scheme is designed to enhance passengers’ safety, connectivity and accessibility to all the bus routes as well as proposed rail corridors and waterways in Lagos.
“The FLM scheme entails LASG partnering with private investors. They will provide buses with seating capacity ranging from 7 to 13 seaters. Government plans to make available 2000 units of 7-13 seater micro buses in the first phase of the scheme.”
The governor said his administration will support the private operators in the bus acquisition under a Bus Finance Scheme, with the private operator required to make 20 per cent down payment to be eligible to come under the Bus Finance Scheme.
“Such operator shall be expected to open an account with the designated bank warehousing the joint funds of the private sector and the state who will advance the 80 per cent credit facility. The repayment period for the Bus Finance Scheme shall be for a period of 36months. In other to ensure that the operator does not default in the repayment of the loan, each operator shall put down a 30-day repayment deposit as financial guarantee.”
The governor said a central ticketing system would be deployed for use across all public transport modes including the FLM operations.
“To ensure seamless mobility within the transport system, the electronic payment system shall be deployed for the FLM operations. This shall allow a commuter with the existing Lagos State Cowry Travel Card on the BRT buses, standard route buses to also use it on the FLM buses.
“A central switching company has been engaged to carry out the reconciliation and settlement daily thereby ensuring all operators receive their respective revenue daily. The operators have been trained on the functionality of the e-ticketing device.
“The monitoring of the FLM operations will be carried out through physical and electronic monitoring. The physical monitoring will be carried out through the deployment of monitoring officers to the categorized zones of the FLM corridors. A monitoring mobile application has been designed for real time data collection as well as vehicle tracking devices. In addition, buses shall be color-coded according to zones for ease of identification and motoring.”
Giving the welcome address, the Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Frederic Oladeinde said in line with the Transport Sector Reform law 2018, the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Transportation and LAMATA put in place various measures aimed at readjusting her transportation strategies to accommodate the first/last mile transportation system which is all inclusive, safe, convenient, affordable, accessible and in line with global practices.
“The First and Last Mile (FLM) bus scheme is therefore a part of our overall transport system that is meant to give Lagosians living in the hinterland relief in accessing the main transport corridors through a safe means,” Sanwo-Olu said.
“The FLM bus scheme will sure make the whole passenger transport chain as seamless, fast and comfortable as possible.”
Similarly, after unveiling 500 FLM buses for the inner communities, the Sanwo-Olu also unveiled 100 high and medium capacity buses. The high capacity buses are 70-seater buses while the medium capacity buses are 30-seater buses.
The governor maintained that the high and medium capacity buses is also meant to make commuting in Lagos better.
Speaking on the new high and medium capacity buses, the Managing Director of Lagos Bus Service Limited, Mr Idowu Oguntona said the increase in LBSL’s fleet size from 50 buses in May 2019 to 150 buses by December 2019 and subsequent injections of buses has increased the fleet size to 252 buses.
“With the addition of the 100 buses being commissioned today, the total fleet size of the company will increase to 352 buses.
Unfortunately, the civil unrest incident of October 2020, resulted in the loss of several buses, causing untold hardship to thousands of Lagosians that rely on the service as their primary means of mobility. Not to mention the disruption caused to the company’s operations.
“This situation obviously was of great concern to our ever-concerned Governor, who has constantly embarked on initiatives to ameliorate the plight of commuters in Lagos. Today’s event is the outcome of one of the several initiatives of the Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration to bring succor to the plight of Lagosians,” Oguntona said.
In the wake of a good number of road traffic crashes that resulted into fire outbreak in recent times, and the urgent need to bring the menace to an end, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Federal Fire Service (FFS) have entered into a historic partnership aimed at eliminating fire-related crashes on Nigerian roads.
A statement by the FRSC’s Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), the groundbreaking collaboration will witness the joint training of personnel from both agencies, joint enforcement patrol, as well as improved data sharing to enhance response times and effectiveness.
The partnership, which was formalized by the Corps Marshal, FRSC, Shehu Mohammed and the Controller-General, FFS, Engr. Jaji Olola Abdulganiyu at the national headquarters of the Corps, marks a significant milestone in the quest to reduce the incidence of fire-related crashes on Nigerian roads.
Speaking during the visit, the Controller-General noted that the Federal Fire Service is committed to protecting lives and properties, and this partnership will enable the two services to respond more effectively to fire-related emergencies on the roads. He showed optimism as he looks forward to working closely with the FRSC to achieve shared goals.
Responding to the Controller General, the Corps Marshal highlighted that the partnership is a testament to the Corps’ commitment to safety and determination to explore innovative solutions to the challenges facing the nation’s transportation sector. He noted that by combining expertise and resources, the agencies can significantly reduce the risk of escalation of fire-related crashes and make the roads safer for all users.
The joint training program will focus on equipping personnel from both agencies with the skills and knowledge needed to respond effectively to fire-related crashes. The program will cover topics such as fire prevention, fire fighting, and emergency response.
In addition to the joint training program, the partnership will also involve improved data sharing and effective patrol operations between the two agencies to enforce compliance on having fire extinguishers in vehicles. This will enable them to share critical information on fire-related crashes, including incident locations, response times, and outcomes.
By combining their strengths and resources, the FRSC and FFS are poised to make a significant impact on road safety in Nigeria. This partnership serves as a model for future collaborations between agencies and underscores the importance of interagency cooperation in achieving shared goals.
The Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has taken more proactive action towards tackling the spate of tanker crashes in Nigeria, as he visits the national headquarters of Petroleum Tanker Drivers Branch-National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Employers (NUPENG-PTD) in Abuja on Wednesday.
The visit, according to a statement by the Corps’ Public Education Officer, Assistant Corps Marshal Olusegun Ogungbemide, and made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), which was a prelude to the forthcoming critical stakeholders meeting organised at the expense of the Corps Marshal to discuss possible ways of bringing to an end, all challenges confronting the safety of lives and properties in the road transportation sector of the country.
While appreciating the support the Corps has received over the years from the Union, the Corps Marshal laid emphasis on the greater need for more collaboration and partnership, especially in the area of training and retraining of Petroleum Tanker Drivers and complying with minimum safety standards in haulage operations.
The National Chairman of the Union, Comrade Augustine Egbon who received the Corps Marshal, commended FRSc’s proactive approach towards enhancing safety in haulage operations in Nigeria. He accepted the need for more collaboration with the Corps in the area of training and retraining and further registered the readiness of the Union to support the Corps through mass media sensitisation campaigns.
The visit amongst other things forms part of Corps Marshal’s ongoing effort to ensure that all stakeholders play critical role in enhancing safety on the nation’s highways.
The meeting had Members of Management of the Corps as well as the Deputy National Chairman of the Union, Alhaji Shuaibu Leba, the National Trustee NUPENG-PTD, Otunba Salmon Akanni Oladiti as well as other Excos of the Union.
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members, on Wednesday, engaged one another in a physical fight during a meeting of the party’s Board of Trustees, BoT, at the headquarters.
The altercation began when Sunday Ude-Okoye, a party chieftain, was ejected from the meeting.
Samuel Anyanwu and Ude-Okoye are contending over the position of National Secretary of the party.
Ude-Okoye had arrived the venue of the meeting before Anyanwu and acting National Chairman, Ambassador Iliya Damagum.
But, when Anyanwu arrived, Ude-Okoye was forced out of the meeting by suspected thugs, a situation that led to an altercation.
