Gov. Fashola launches 100 air-conditioned Internet-enabled buses in Lagos

In its determination to ease movement within the metropolis, the Lagos State government in partnership with LAGBUS Asset Management Limited, operators of the Bus Rapid Transport, yesterday launched 100 air-conditioned, WIFI Internet-enabled buses.

The new buses, called Metro Bus which are to ply the Sango-Oshodi, Obalende- Ikorodu, and Island –Epe routes, will hit the road soon.

The buses are expected to increase in number to 1800 servicing 47 routes within the metropolis and are proposed to provide comfort and safety as well as reduce time spent commuting.

LAGBUS has also added new innovations such as the ability of commuters to check the arrival time of the bus by sending sms to a specialised number.

“There would be CCTV camera on board to ensure safety of passengers. The live feeds from the cameras will be available to security outlets to be able to track any mishap. Customers can also use WIFI on the buses as well as enjoy videos and music on the go”, said Niyi Oguntoyinbo, the managing Director of Metro Bus.

The buses are expected to create 1,500 direct jobs and 5,000 other jobs for agents selling the preloaded cards.

While speaking at the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority Yard, Oshodi, the state Governor, Babatunde Fashola, stated that the provision of the buses is in conjuction with the multimodal transport system, which include road rail and water, driven by the private sector.

“Government do not own the BRT buses; it was private sector that owns them. Govt. job was to build the roads, the bus shelters to maintain and manage them while they ran their buses. However, that environment at the time they were borrowing money at One Dollar at 118 Naira and interest rate at 10 per cent has changed completely,” he said.

“They agreed and bought the first set of buses. They took loans, paid off the loans, recapitalized but again the serene in which they invested then has changed substantially.”

The buses are a welcome development as it would help ease immense pressure on the overused and mostly rickety BRT buses.