BRT buses move 65m passengers in two years

• Lagos Identifies 60 Traffic Gridlock Junctions
• No Commercial Driver Will Operate In Coming Days Without Certification

Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde has said BRT buses transported 64,888,935 passengers along CMS-Ikorodu corridor and Oshodi-Abule Egba BRT Corridor from 2019 to date.

He disclosed that though the state government will not ban yellow buses from plying Lagos roads, there are plans to reform their operations to align with a smart city, and that the state government is working to deliver inter-modal transportation system with the aim of ensuring ease of movement across Lagos.

Oladeinde stated this during the 2021 ministerial press briefing to mark the 2nd anniversary of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration.

He said: “A quick look at the ridership diary of LBSL bus services shows a quite interesting performance, especially the increasing number. In May 2019, an average of 6,000 passengers were transported daily. By December 2019, an average of 11,000 passengers were transported daily.

On March 17, 2020, LBSL celebrated the 10 million-passenger ridership, as an unprecedented landmark achievement.

“By March 2021, the total number of passengers transported was 20,024,985. With increase in ridership also comes increase in job creation. The administration of Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has created jobs for over 700 Lagosians through LBSL, with about 87 per cent of staff being bus captains, operations staff and technical staff. LBSL commenced operations with five service routes in May, 2019 across Lagos State. By February, 2020, the serviced routes have increased to 32.”

According to him, it is the reason the blue and red line rail projects would be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2021.

He further said in the coming days no commercial drivers would be allowed to operate without certification from the Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI)

“LASDRI has established itself as a foremost training and capacity building centre for drivers. The Institute operates through three windows mode of training, namely: Mandatory Training Programme (once a year for professional drivers), Rehabilitation Training Programme (for drivers that contravene traffic rules and regulation) and Structured Training Programme (organised to suit the demands of organiaations and establishments). The Institute has trained 97,866 drivers since the inception of this Administration, 2019 to March, 2021.”

The commissioner said 60 traffic gridlock junctions had been identified, with about 28 completed or under remodeling.

Oladeinde explained that the reconfiguration and remodeling of the junctions and roundabouts in the state were crucial to meeting the present reality, as rapid population growth has made some of the existing roundabouts and junctions obsolete.

He maintained that the projects were set to achieve sustainable solutions that will address traffic congestion, improve citizens’ transportation needs, reduce travel time by a wide margin and enhance safety of lives and productivity of Lagosians.

Oladeinde revealed that 130 burnt vehicles and 539 abandoned/unclaimed/impounded vehicles were removed from the roads across the state, and in line with the extant guidelines, have been auctioned.