The Lagos State government has issued a two-week registration notice to all public transport drivers (Korope/Danfo bus drivers) as it releases its restructuring plans to improve commuting experience.
Speaking at a meeting with bus operators and union leaders in the state, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Sola Giwa, said the move aligns with the Strategic Transportation Master Plan of Lagos State.
He stated that the restructuring plan would be implemented in phases, urging transport operators who intend to key into the restructuring programme, to come to the Ministry of Transportation to register within the next two weeks.
Giwa described the current state of bus operations on the corridor as chaotic, hence the need for collaboration to successfully regulate and integrate the informal transport sector into the State’s Bus Reform Initiative using Lekki/Epe corridor as a pilot test.
He explained that the Lekki-Epe corridor had been inspected by the Ministry of Transportation and the Lagos Metropolitan Transport Authority to identify limitations of seamless traffic flow along the expressway and adjourning roads; adding that they have also mapped out a systematic framework to address these challenges.
Some of the planned solutions, according to Giwa, 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 korope/minibuses to inner routes, re-registration and recertification of all buses.
Other improvements are the introduction of an e-ticketing system, provision of transport infrastructure (layby, terminal etc), regulation and standardisation of bus operations, improved transportation services i.e. safety and passenger comfort to promote the security of lives and properties along the Lekki-Epe corridor.
He added that the registered operators would be allotted routes by the ministry to ensure strict compliance with the strategy.
Giwa also warned that any operator, who contravenes the regulations, would be fined and would forfeit his or her vehicle if he or she ignores the notice of the fine. He declared that the state government would not accommodate willful disregard of its existing Transport Sector Reform Law.
Addressing the concerns raised by members of the unions, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Olawale Musa, explained that the state government was 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 standardisation of the transportation system in Lagos.
