The Lagos State Government has received 20 additional high-capacity Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses under the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicle (EV) Buses in a move to boost public transportation capacity, as well as supporting the transition to cleaner energy.
The government disclosed the acquisition in an announcement made by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, stating that the high-capacity buses would enable operators to move more commuters with fewer vehicles and could potentially reduce waiting times on the routes where they are deployed.
Osiyomi, during the bus handing over it the buses on Wednesday in Lagos said that the intervention went beyond the provision of buses, saying that the measure aligns with Lagos State’s investment in an integrated transportation system comprising Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), rail, waterways and other mass-transit infrastructure.
The commissioner called for continued Federal Government support through the provision of more CNG buses and infrastructure required for their effective operation and maintenance.
He urged private-sector investors to explore opportunities in fleet financing, vehicle leasing, CNG infrastructure, electric-vehicle charging, maintenance, technology, ticketing and fleet management.
Osiyemi stressed that the state would continue to work with the Federal Government, transport operators, investors and other stakeholders to develop an efficient and environmentally responsible public transportation system.
“Today, we receive buses. Tomorrow, we build a cleaner future. A cleaner Lagos is a better Lagos,” he added.
Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Abimbola Akinajo, said the handover represented another step towards providing Lagos residents with more efficient, affordable, reliable and sustainable public transportation.
Akinajo disclosed that Lagos currently has approximately 150 CNG buses, including 36 buses allocated to operators under LAMATA’s regulatory framework.
She noted that the additional 20 buses would further increase service capacity on the corridors where they would be deployed, stressing that the buses represented additional capacity to move people, connect communities and support economic activities across the metropolis.
The LAMATA boss charged beneficiary operators to deploy the buses efficiently and maintain them properly to ensure commuters derive the full benefits of the intervention.
She also assured residents and other stakeholders that LAMATA would continue to provide regulatory oversight to ensure the buses contribute to the quality, reliability and sustainability of public transportation across Lagos.
In his remarks, Chief Operations Officer of the Presidential Initiative on CNG and Electric Vehicle Buses (Pi-CNG&EV), Tosin Coker, said Lagos was critical to Nigeria’s energy transition in the public transport sector, making it an important beneficiary of the initiative.
Coker also urged the beneficiary operators to properly maintain the buses to ensure they continue to serve the commuters for whom they were provided.