The bus free ride offered citizens in Lagos on New Year Eve and New Year Day is government's way of promoting use of comfortable and reliable public transport.

Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Dr.. Dayo Mobereola made the assertion while reviewing the bus free ride services offered on Christmas Day, New Year Eve and New Year Day.

Dr. Mobereola said the bus free service was providing LAMATA with good data on bus deployment to area not currently served by high capacity buses.

“Based on the extension of services to other areas not currently being served by high capacity buses, we now have useful data on the characteristics of these areas and this make planning easier,“ he said.

He disclosed that about 400,000 passengers used bus free ride services of both the Mile 12 - CMS Bus Rapid Transit and the Ikotun/Igando-Iyana-Ipaja-Maryland Bus Franchise Scheme.

A breakdown of the figure shows that the BRT, with a deployment of 120 buses carried 152,200 passengers on New Year's Eve while on New Year's Day it moved 143,750 using 115 buses.

The BFS deployed 30 buses on New Year's Eve and carried 31,452 passengers and on New Year's Day moved 71,892 passengers with 50 buses.

Dr. Mobereola stated that the huge number of passengers moved this festive period underscore the huge potentials inherent in an organised public transport system adding that government was working very hard to ensure that all parts of Lagos have good public transport buses.

Dr. Mobereola disclosed that plans were on to extend the BRT system to Ikorodu town as well as from Oshodi to Obalende.

Some members of the public who used the BRT and BFS for the first time commended the government initiative of providing free transportation to citizens especially against the background of a biting fuel shortage which almost marred the Yuletide and New Year celebrations.

An octogenarian, Mr. Kehinde Odutola who used the BRT for the first time commended the government for being people-centred and sensitive to their needs.

He recalled with nostalgia what public transport used to be in Lagos adding "Fashola is really doing a lot to bring back the good old times to Lagos."



For further information or enquiries, please contact:
Kolawole Ojelabi
External Relations Specialist
Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA)
Block C 2nd Floor, Motorways Centre,
Oregun, Lagos
Telephone: +2348038556452, +23417905343
Email: kojelabi@lamata-ng.com; kolawoleojelabi@gmail.com