All Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and Standard routes will now have a flat rate increase, according to Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Bus fare from Ikorodu TBS is now N600 instead of N500, and Berger to Ajah is now N700 instead of N600. The fare from Oshodi to Abule Egba will increase from N350 to N450, and the fare from Abule Egba to CMS-Obalende will be N600.
The increase, which will come into effect on Wednesday, 13 July 2022, is aimed at ensuring sustainability of the BRT and standard route schemes.
The Governor in consenting to the fare increase also approved a proposal for a bailout for the bus operating companies (route franchise operators/concessionaires), in order to cushion the effect of the harsh operating environment, safeguard private partnership investment, and forestall the demise of formalised bus operations in the state.
In view of the economic situation, the government is also providing support for the Bus Operating Companies in view of the continuous increase in fuel price. This is to ensure that the increment to the passenger is kept to a minimum.
The fare increase notwithstanding, government noted that whatever support this would provide to the operators, it would still not cover the cost of fueling, thus likely to put the continued survival of the bus operations on a tight rein.
The Governor also approved the appeal by the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA) for the conversion of the current diesel buses in operation to the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) and a shift to economically viable and environmentally friendly mobility energy solution that are cost efficient and maximize operations cost such as electric vehicles, hydrogen buses and the development of hybrid energy sources as alternative fueling for the current Bus Reform Initiative (BRI) buses.
According to the request:-
“These measures are indispensable in the current global economic and environmental reality to ensure the sustainability of the BRI operation.”
Leave a Reply